Agriculture and Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.) said that farmers are not getting the price of potatoes due to high potato production this year. To reduce the losses of farmers, some potatoes will be purchased by the government.
The advisor said this while briefing journalists while visiting various research and processing centers of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) in Gabtoli in the capital on Saturday (August 23, 2025).
The advisor said that tissue culture of potatoes, pineapples, dates, and various flowers is being done at the BADC’s tissue culture center. We export dates; if the seedlings produced through this technology are widely distributed locally, import dependence will be reduced. Potato seeds have to be purchased at high prices from various countries, including the Netherlands. If improved varieties of potato seeds can be produced in the country, it will be good for the country’s agriculture. The advisor said that he is working through the BADC Tissue Culture Lab.
In response to a question from reporters regarding the recent increase in vegetable prices in the market, the advisor said that the vegetable market has been affected by the damage caused by the rain. This problem will not remain when the weather normalizes. Although the prices of vegetables are on the rise, the prices of potatoes are low. Farmers are not getting the price of potatoes this year. They are being affected. Therefore, the advisor said that the government is planning to purchase some potatoes. He also informed about the government’s decision to fix the price of potatoes at the cold storage level to reduce the loss of farmers.
When reporters asked about the weapons recovery activities before the elections, the Home Affairs Advisor said that weapons were recovered today too. Weapon recovery is an ongoing process. Weapons are being recovered every day. We hope that almost all weapons will be recovered before the elections.
In response to another question from reporters, the advisor said that a trend of weapons entering from different countries during elections has been seen before. When asked whether any measures will be taken to prevent such a trend around the next election, the advisor said, all kinds of steps will be taken to recover weapons. Steps will be taken not only during the election, but also at other times so that no weapons can enter the country.
When asked about the preparation for the election, the advisor said, we are preparing for the election as needed. We will not have any difficulty in holding the election in February. We are preparing for the election according to the deadline set by our chief advisor and we will be fully prepared during the election period.
In response to journalists’ questions about the spread of various types of propaganda on social media around the election, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said, there is now freedom of speech and expression in the country. But you could not express many things before. Now everyone can express whatever they want.
On the question of border security, the advisor said, our border is completely safe and secure. Our people are also very aware. Especially the people of the border areas are more aware.
During the visit, the advisor inspected various research centers, cold storage and infrastructure of BADC.
Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Dr. Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian was present at the time. The advisor later visited Darus Salam Police Station in the capital.
