RANGPUR, May 28, 2020 (BSS) – The farmers are happy getting excellent yield rate of Boro rice on way to achieve its bumper production as its harvest continues in full swing in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said the farmers have already completed harvesting 61.82 percent of their cultivated Boro rice with an average superb yield rate of 4.22 tonnes of clean rice per hectare of land.
Meanwhile, a number of farmers expressed happiness over the official Boro paddy and rice procurement campaign at Taka 26 per kg for paddy, Taka 36 at per kg for boiled rice and Tak 35 per kg for non-boiled (atap) rice.
The DAE officials said a target of producing 21.76-lakh tonnes of clean Boro rice (32.64-lakh tonnes of paddy) was fixed from 5.03 lakh hectares of land for all five districts in Rangpur region during this Rabi season.
However, the farmers finally cultivated the crop on five lakh hectares of land with a shortfall by only 3,080 hectares of land or around 0.39 percent than the fixed farming target.
“The Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan caused water-logging of Boro rice crop on 1,093 hectares of land in the region with only partial damage,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Muhammad Ali told BSS today.
Meanwhile, the farmers have already harvested Boro rice on over 3.09 hectares of land producing 13.05 tonnes of clean rice with an excellent average yield rate of 4.22 tonnes per hectare.
“The farmers are expecting to achieve a bumper production of Boro rice despite a little shortfall in the farming target. More than 1.82 lakh farm-labourers are engaged in harvesting the crop to earn their daily wages,” Ali said.
Currently, the farmers are utilising 125 combined harvester machines for harvesting Boro paddy of one acre of land using one machine in an hour spending Taka 3,000 against Taka 6,000 for the same purpose by engaging labourers.
“The government through the DAE has distributed the combined harvester machines among the farmers at Taka 14 lakh per unit against the real price of Taka 28 lakh at 50 percent subsidized rates,” Ali said.
Besides, the farmers are easily harvesting Boro rice using 240 reaper machines to overcome the shortage of farm-labourers and complete harvesting the crop on time.
“The field level officials and experts of the DAE and other agriculture related organisations extended assistance to the farmers and provided latest technologies to make the Boro rice cultivation programme a success,” Ali added.
Talking to BSS, farmers Mohsin Ali, Aiyub Ali, Zaved Ali, Helal Mian, Ekramul Haque, Ariful Haque Batul and Manik Miah of different villages here said they have cultivated Boro rice on two to five acres of land each this season.
They have already completed harvesting Boro rice on 70 percent of their cropland and got a bumper output of the crop.
“I have cultivated Boro rice on 3.50 acres of land and completed harvesting on three acres with excellent yield rate,” said farmer Ariful Haque Batul of village Najirdigar in Rangpur Sadar.
He hoped to complete the harvesting process by the next couple of weeks and get 85 mounds of Boro crop on an average in terms of paddy per acre of land.
Similarly, farmer Ichha Haq Ali of village Kathihara in Mominpur union of Rangpur Sadar upazila hoped to complete harvesting of his cultivated Boro rice by this month’s end to get a bumper production.