Farmers are disconnected from the government, lacking timely support, even during natural disasters.

The government is set to launch a short code 333#5 for farmers to sell their produce using the platform, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak says.

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder yesterday asked all deputy commissioners to ensure that paddy is bought directly from farmers for meeting the government’s rice procurement target.

Under the ongoing food grain procurement programme, the government is buying only 1.5 lakh tonnes of paddy from farmers, which makes up less than one percent of the total estimated production of around 1.96 crore tonnes this boro season.