RANGPUR, April 26, 2021 (BSS) – Cultivation of Aush rice as an additional crop during the off-season between Boro rice harvest and Aman rice seedling transplantation gets full momentum now in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said cultivation of less irrigation water consuming and short duration Aush rice is expanding following various pragmatic steps taken by the government during the last eight years.
The steps include distribution of intensives in terms of high yielding varieties of Aush rice seeds and fertilisers free of cost, conducting motivational campaigns and providing technical support to farmers.
“The government already distributed seeds and fertilisers as incentives among 31,200 small and marginal farmers for expanding Aush rice cultivation this season,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Khandker Abdul Wahed said.
Under the programme, each beneficiary farmer got five kilograms (Kgs) of high yielding varieties of Aush rice seeds, 20-kg of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and 10-kg of muriate of potash (MoP) fertiliser for Aush rice cultivation on one bigha of land.
The DAE has fixed a target of bringing 62,199 hectares of land under Aush rice cultivation to produce over 1.75 lakh tonnes of clean rice (2.63 lakh tonnes of paddy) for all five districts of the region for the current Kharif-1 season.
Transplantation of Aush rice seedlings began from early April and will continue till June next to complete harvest of the crop by mid-August and transplant Aman rice seedlings on the same land.
“Meanwhile, farmers have transplanted Aush rice seedlings on 26,177 hectares of land, 42.09 percent against the fixed farming target of the crop on 62,199 hectares of land in the region by Sunday last,” Wahed said.
Earlier, farmers produced 51,722 tonnes of Aush rice from 17,523 hectares of land in 2013 while 59,685 tonnes of rice from 19,205 hectares in 2014 and 61,676 tonnes of Aush rice from 21,063 hectares of land in 2015 in the region, he said.
They produced 65,505 tonnes of Aush rice from 21,751 hectares of land in 2016 while 73,543 tonnes of Aush rice from 24,717 hectares in 2017 and 1.23 lakh tonnes of Aush rice from 40, 618 hectares of land in 2018.
Farmers produced 1.48 lakh tonnes of clean Aush rice from 47,552 hectares of land despite huge damage to the crop on 7,754 hectares of land caused by floods in 2019.
“Besides, farmers produced 1.83 lakh tonnes of clean Aush rice from 59,092 hectares of land even after damage to the crop on 4,598 hectares of land caused by floods in 2020 in the region,” Wahed added.
Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur Agriculturist Dr Md Sarwarul Haque said farmers are becoming more interested in farming Aush rice using unused seasonal rainwater on the lands that remain fallow during the off season.
Talking to BSS, farmers Ariful Haque and Aiyub Ali of Rangpur Sadar upazila said they have already completed transplantation of Aush rice seedlings on their crop lands and tender plants are growing superbly amid favourable climatic conditions.