Aush paddy of around 22,000 hectares cropland has been damaged so far in the country due to the recent flood, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said today.

"We had the target of 13 lakh hectares cropland (for Aush cultivation). So far, it was cultivated on 11 lakh hectares cropland," he said.

Also, flood has damaged vegetables of around 5,000 to 7,000 hectares cropland so far, he added.

He was addressing a seminar organised by Agriculture Information Service in the capital's Krishibid Institution Bangladesh.

The minister said there was not much damage to the seedbeds so far. It will be difficult to recover seedbeds if those are damaged simultaneously, he added.

He, however, said the government is ready to tackle the situation and already has kept sufficient funds ready for bringing damaged seedbeds under rehabilitation programme.

Besides, the government has preserved sufficient amounts of seeds, thinking of future challenges, he said.

The flood situation has been monitored from the agriculture ministry, he further said, adding the ministry will take different steps to recover the damage from the flood.