RANGPUR, June 3, 2021 (BSS) – Farmers have already exceeded the fixed production target of Boro rice after completing harvest of the crop on 98.24 percent of cultivated land area in Rangpur agriculture region this season.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers are getting excellent yield rates of Boro rice on way to achieve bumper production as its harvest is expected to complete within a week.
“Farmers have already harvested 98.24 percent of their Boro rice crop with an average yield rate of 4.38 tonnes of clean rice per hectare of land,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Bibhu Bhshan Roy told BSS today.
Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing 21.54 lakh tonnes of clean Boro rice (32.31 lakh tonnes of paddy) from 4.96 lakh hectares of land for all five districts in the region this season.
“Braving the coronavirus pandemic, farmers have cultivated Boro rice on over 5.03 lakh hectares of land, 1.41 percent higher than the fixed farming target this season,” he said.
Farmers have cultivated Boro rice crop on more land area after getting assistance from the government under the post-flood agriculture rehabilitation programme to recoup the crop losses they incurred during the last year’s floods in the region.
“Farmers have already harvested Boro rice on 4.94 lakh hectares of land in the region producing over 2.16 lakh tonnes of clean rice exceeding the fixed production target by 13,182 tonnes or 0.61 percent,” Roy said.
Many farmers utilised combined harvester machines for harvesting Boro paddy on one acre of land using one machine in an hour spending only Taka 3,000 against Taka 6,000 for the same purpose on one acre of land by engaging labourers.
“The government through the DAE distributed combined harvester machines among farmers and groups of farmers at Taka 14 lakh per unit against the real price of Taka 28 lakh at 50 percent subsidised rates,” Roy said.
Besides, farmers easily harvested their cultivated Boro rice crop using reaper machines in the region this time.
“The field level DAE officials and experts extended necessary assistance to farmers and provided latest technologies to make the intensive Boro rice cultivation programme a success,” Roy added.
Talking to BSS, farmers Echhahaq Ali, Aiyub Ali, Zaved Ali, Helal Mian, Ekramul Haque, Ariful Haque Batul and Manik Miah of different villages in Rangpur said they had cultivated Boro rice on two to five acres of land each this season.
All of them have already completed harvesting Boro rice on their cropland and got a bumper output of the crop.
They also expressed happiness as the government has started procuring Boro paddy from farmers at fair prices across the region.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said various programmatic steps of the government helped farmers a lot in getting a bumper Boro rice production in the region this season.