ZCZC
BSS-06
AUSH-FARMING-RAJSHAHI (with picture)
BRRI invented paddy varieties open enormous food security prospect
RAJSHAHI, July 16, 2019 (BSS) – The newly paddy varieties invented by
BRRI have opened up a door of enormous prospects in food security along with
mitigating the crises of irrigation water in all eight districts of Rajshahi
division.
Dr Shakhawat Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer of Bangladesh
Agriculture Research Institute, here said BRRI released seven drought
tolerant varieties and some of those have gained popularity among farmers
during the last couple of years.
He said there has been an enormous prospect of bringing harvesting
intensity coupled with increasing food production through a successful
promotion of the developed varieties.
Talking to BSS today, Dr Aminul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer of BRRI,
here says the BRRIdhan-48 paddy variety has been gaining popularity among
farmers in the Barind tract for the last couple of years.
It has been giving satisfactory yield with scanty rainfall and limited
irrigation during the Aush season in the area.
The farmers are seen interesting towards cultivating the newly developed
variety in the vast Barind tract as part of their effort to mitigating the
adverse impacts of climate change.
Farmers have brought 2,37,958 hectares of land under Aush paddy
cultivation in all eight districts under Rajshahi division during the current
season.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) had set a target to bring a
total of 2,59,591 hectares of land fixing production target of 6,98,491
metric tons of rice in the division.
Dev Dulal Dhali, Additional Director of DAE, said a total of 39,200
farmers got incentives of seed and fertilizer for the cultivation of Aush
paddy on 39,200 bigha of lands in all the eight districts.
He says most of the beneficiary farmers were given seed of BRRIdhan-48,
a drought tolerant paddy variety innovated by Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute (BRRI).
Each of the farmers got 15 kg Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers,
10 kg Muriate of Potash (MoP) and 5 kg of Aus seeds.
To maintain sound soil health, it could be advisable to grow rice using
a different system in order to improve compatibility between monsoon rice and
upland winter crops.
BSS/AH/FI/ 1448 hrs