Seventy-three varieties of rice were developed in the country in the last 13 years, according to the information placed at the meeting of a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.

The 21st meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture Ministry held with its chairman Matia Chowdhury in the chair at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, said a press release.

Out of the newly developed varieties, the parliamentary body recommended the government to motivate the production of ‘BRRI Dhan 96,’ ‘Bangabandhu Dhan 100,’ ‘BRRI Dhan 101’ and ‘BRRI Dhan 102’ variant rice across the country.

The committee suggested reaching paddy seeds to farmers and spread the concept of higher production at lower cost among the peasants.

The parliamentary watchdog recommended putting importance on motivating farmers to boost production using quality seeds of crops to meet the food demand.

Committee members Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Md. Emad Uddin Pk, Md. Mamunur Rashid Kiron, Anwarul Abedin Khan, Umme Kulsum Smriti and Hosne Ara attended the meeting.