Dhaka, Jan 20 - Bangladesh is ramping up production of its main staple, rice, after floods and a cyclone left it with a shortfall of up to 2 million tonnes, a government adviser said on Sunday.
The government was trying to increase production of boro, a rice variety, by 21 percent to 17.5 million tonnes this year, said C.S. Karim, agriculture adviser to Bangladesh's army-backed interim government.
"We are making all out efforts to raise the boro production by ensuring adequate and timely supply of seeds, fertiliser and low interest credit to the farmers," the adviser told Reuters on Sunday.
"The government is also trying to ensure a steady supply of diesel and electricity for irrigation."
Boro, now being grown and to be harvested in three months time, accounts for around 50 percent of 27 million tonnes of rice Bangladesh produces annually.
Floods and a cyclone in second half of last year killed nearly 4,500 people, made millions homeless and destroyed around 1.8 million tonnes of rice in the fields, according to officials estimates.
Rice is the main staple food of more than 140 million Bangladeshis and agriculture is still one of the principal sources of employment, contributing 20 percent of Bangladesh's economy.
Central bank officials said increased imports of rice in recent months were putting foreign exchange reserves under pressure.
After hitting a record high of $5.55 billion early this month, reserves have fallen to $5.16 billion.
Rice imports between July and December last year increased by almost six times to nearly 1 million tonnes and costs ballooned to $310 million from $36 million a year earlier, weighing on the country's balance of payments (BOP), according to central bank statistics.
"We have no alternative to have a bumper (rice) production to ease import pressure and relief the BOP situation," Karim said.