By Dr Aynal Haque
RAJSHAHI, Aug 17, 2020 (BSS) – Farmers have started harvesting aush paddy with bumper yield everywhere in the region creating scopes of ensuring food security besides job opportunities for many people amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
At this present initial stage, farmers are seen harvesting some high yielding and short duration varieties like Brridhan-48, Brridhan-82, Brridhan-28 and Brridhan-26 developed newly by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and local jira and Parija varieties, said Dr Aminul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer of BRRI.
The farmers are very much happy after getting bumper paddy yield besides availing the scopes of spot selling of the newly harvested paddy.
Dr Islam said BRRI has established 26 demonstration plots of the high yielding varieties through providing two tonnes of seeds and fertilizers free of cost to promote those among the farmers in the region.
Osman Gani, 53, a farmer of Bonpara village under Boraigram Upazila in Natore district, harvested 30 mounds of paddy from his one and half of bighas of land of Brridhan-48 and sold at Taka 940 per mound just after the harvest on the spot on Sunday.
Another farmer Muhammad Alauddin, 48, harvested 40 mounds from his two bighas of land of the same variety at the same area.
Dr Anwar Uddin, Senior Scientific Officer of BRRI, joined the crop cutting programme at 15 spots at the Banpara area on Sunday saying BRRI dhan48 performed better than any other varieties this year.
Farmers are so happy for cultivating this variety. Quoting the farmers he said BRRI dhan48 had never yielded so much before.
Dr Anwar said the BRRIdhan-48 has become an icon of boosting paddy production in the region including its vast Barind tract during the last couple of years.
BRRIdhan-48, a short duration and drought tolerant paddy variety for the Aush season, has been giving satisfactory yield with scanty rainfall and limited irrigation in the area, he added.
Meanwhile, farming of Aush paddy has exceeded target predicting a record production of the food crop in Rajshahi division during the current season despite the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
According to the farmers and DAE officials, the farmers have brought 1,639 hectares more lands under the paddy farming compared to the target set by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) after the best uses of facilities provided by the government.
The DAE has set a target of producing around 7.5 lakh tonnes of Aush rice from 2.52 lakh hectares of land in all eight districts in the division.
But, the farmers cultivated the paddy on around 2.54 lakh hectares of land generating hopes of additional rice production that will ultimately help coping with the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
Sources said government incentives, technological assistance, high yielding seeds, suitable climatic condition, frequent rainfall and satisfactory yield and market price of the newly harvested Boro paddy and rice are being adjudged as the major factors of exceeding the farming target.
Sudhendra Nath Roy, Additional Director of DAE, Rajshahi said the government has adopted diversified steps including incentives and technological support to promote the aush rice farming.
He said the government has provided incentives to 56,265 small and marginalized farming families to encourage them towards aush farming in the division. Each of them was given five kilograms of high yielding seeds, 20 kilograms of diammonium phosphate and ten kilograms of muriate of potash fertilizers.
Apart from this, another 10,900 farmers were given 54,500 kilograms of high yielding seeds to attain the aush production target. Each of the beneficiary farmers was given five kilograms seeds.
Agriculturist Sudhen Roy said the agricultural incentives will help boost aush paddy production as the country’s total production will be enhanced as the government has attached highest priority to the agriculture sector to cope with the present pandemic situation.
He said the Aush farming is very much cost effective as it requires less production cost and faces less natural calamity.
Last year, the farmers produced 5.56 lakh tonnes of Aush rice from around 2.38 lakh hectares of land in Rajshahi division.