50% edible oil to be produced in country by next 3 years: Agri minister

Minister for Agriculture Dr Md Abdur Razzaque said on Saturday that the government has a plan to produce 50% of the annual demand for edible oil in the country in the next three years. 
 
He said this while talking to journalists after inaugurating a workshop on annual research assessment at the auditorium of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in Gazipur. 
 
The minister said the mustard farmers are getting benefited financially by cultivating such hybrid varieties of mustard redesigned by the country's agriculturalists. 
 
The agricultural ministry has taken a massive initiative to boost up the mustard production as the produced crops can't impact on the market, Razzaque, also the presidium member of the ruling Awami League, said. 
 
"We have taken an initiative to produce 40% to 50% of the demand for edible oil in the country by the next three years," he said. 
 
Underscoring the need for research to produce paddy, he said the amount of agricultural land has decreased in relation to the population. 
 
There is no alternative to producing more paddies to cope with the increasing demand of rice, he said, adding that the redesigned varieties of paddies will be extended rapidly. 
 
He said several varieties of vegetables like pumpkin were planted on yards earlier but not being planted on lands resulting in decreasing the number of agricultural lands. 
 
An unbiased research is needed to find out the reason behind the price hike of rice despite bumper production of paddy, he observed. 
 
With research institute Directorate General Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir in the chair, State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter and Department of Agricultural Extension Director General Md Benazir Alam among others were present at the programme.