Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said that keeping in view surplus rice production which has created an imbalance between demand and supply equation, setting up a bio-ethanol plant is the need of the hour in Chhattisgarh.

Baghel was addressing an inaugural function of a three-day long National Agriculture Fair at Tulsi-Baradera village in Raipur district.

Citing that there was surplus production of foodgrains in the country, he said “there is enough food-grain stored in the country which could feed countrymen for three years. This has resulted in increased supply against the demand and the farmers are compelled to sell their paddy produce at throwaway price in the open     market’’.

``Although, the agriculture now has been turning out to be a profitable business in Chhattisgarh as the state government is providing farmers very handsome price of Rs 2500 per quintal for their paddy, something had to be done for utilization of the surplus stock,’’ Baghel remarked before a huge gathering of farmers.

He further said, ``initiating production of bio-ethanol from rice could be a profitable alternative as the government of India is importing the fossil fuel at higher price from foreign country’’.

``The bio-ethanol production will not only save foreign money but will also revive the agrarian sector in the country’’, he opined.

BJP legislator and former minister Brijmohan Agrawal who was also present in the function as a special guest demanded from the chief minister Baghel to extend the paddy procurement for next 15 days in order to allow the farmers who were left out from selling their crop in the allotted time period.