RANGPUR, Dec 7, 2020 (BSS) – Harvesting of Aman rice is nearing completion with comparatively better production despite damages caused by recent floods to the crop making farmers happy with excellent market price in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers harvested Aman rice on 5,55,164 hectares of land till Sunday, 92.77 percent against total standing crop on 5,98,430 lakh hectares of land in all five districts of the region.
“Farmers have so far produced 15,92,617 tonnes of clean Aman rice (23.88 lakh tonnes of paddy) with an average yield rate of 2.87 tonnes of clean rice per hectare,” said Acting Additional Director of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Md. Moniruzzaman.
Meanwhile, harvest of Aman rice with cultivation of Rabi crops on the same land has created huge jobs for farm-labourers helping them to earn livelihoods and overcome the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic situation across the region.
The recent floods damaged various standing crops on 42,055 hectares of land causing production losses of 1,49,416 tonnes of crops worth Taka 499.16 crore this year affecting 4,49,285 farmers in Rangpur agriculture region.
“The floods damaged the growing Aman rice crop on 24,886 hectares of land causing production losses of 70,230 tonnes of clean rice worth Taka 253 crore and affecting 2,29,209 farmers in the region,” Moniruzzaman said.
Besides, the floods damaged seedbeds of Aman rice on 1,195.87 hectares of land causing losses to seedlings worth Taka 15.95 crore affecting 38,705 farmers in the region.
Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing 16,97,795 tonnes of clean Aman rice (25,46,693 tonnes of paddy) from 6,05,140 hectares of land for all five districts in the region.
To recoup the crop losses, the government implemented massive agri-rehabilitation programmes spending Taka 1.42 crore assisting 14,743 flood-affected farmers of the region to make Aman rice farming programme successful.
Talking to BSS today, farmer Ariful Haque of flood-prone village Najirdigar in Rangpur said he had cultivated flood-tolerant varieties of Aman rice like BRRI dhan51, BRRI dhan52 and BINA dhan12 on seven acres of land this season.
“Recent floods submerged his growing Aman rice plants twice this year,” he said, adding that he already completed harvest of the crop and got 22 mounds (every 40 kg=one mound) of paddy against expected 45 mounds of the crop per acre.
However, farmers in other areas where recent floods did not submerge their growing Aman rice plants are getting excellent output in the tune of 35 to 45 tonnes of paddy per acre this season, he added.
Farmers Mofizar Rahman of Taraganj upazila, Mokhlesur Rahman of Badarganj upazila Ayub Ali, of Sadar upazila and Sarwarul Alam of Kawnia upazila in Rangpur said they got excellent yield rates of their harvested Aman rice crop in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the farmers expressed their happiness over the current excellent market price of newly harvested Aman paddy between Taka 1,150 and 1,250 per mound.
Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur Agriculturist Dr. Md. Sarwarul Alam said farmers are hopeful to achieve a better Aman rice output as its harvest is nearing completion with better yield rates in most areas in the region.
“The farmers are sowing seeds of potato, winter vegetables and many other Rabi crops now on the same land to reap more profits after completing harvest of different varieties of Aman rice,” Alam added.