RAJSHAHI, Dec 4, 2019 (BSS) – More than 5.19 lakh tonnes of wheat are
expected to be produced from around 1.46 lakh hectares of land during the
current season in all eight districts under Rajshahi division which has
tradition of yielding the grain crop significantly.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has set the target of
producing 3.77 lakh tonnes of wheat from 1.05 lakh hectares of land in four
districts of Rajshahi Agricultural Zone while 1.42 lakh tonnes from 41,455
hectares in four districts of Bogura Agricultural Zone.
The DAE has disbursed seeds and fertilizers worth around Taka 3.38 crore
free of cost among 17,000 poor and marginal farmers for wheat farming under
the government’s agricultural incentive programme in the division, said Deb
Dulal Dhali, Additional Director of DAE.
Various other government and non-government entities have adopted
diversified steps to make farming a total success in the region as it’s
suitable for the crop for its water-saving and drought tolerant features.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA), an ever-largest
irrigation providing state-run organization in the country’s northwest
region, has full preparation to promote the water-saving crop in the region
to mitigate its water-stressed condition.
BMDA under its ‘Quality Seed Production, Distribution & Farmers’ Training
Project for crop production Project’ has supplied 80 tonnes of foundation
wheat seeds among the farmers, said Engineer Abdur Rashid, Executive Director
of BMDA.
More than 12.58 lakh community people of 2.66 lakh households are being
motivated and encouraged towards promoting the wheat like water-saving crops
with intervention of the ‘Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)’
project.
The project is being implemented by DASCOH Foundation in around 1,280
drought-hit villages under 39 Union Parishads and three municipalities of
eight upazilas in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts since 2014,
said Akramul Haque, chief executive officer of DASCOH Foundation.
He, however, said successful promotion of less-water consuming crops in
the Barind area would play a vital role to lessen the gradually mounting
pressure on its underground water.
Rajshahi Regional Office of Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute
(BWMRI) developed 320 demonstration plots on farmers’ fields.
Prior to this, 320 farmers were given 5.5 tonnes of breeder seeds and 8.5
tonnes of truthfully labelled seeds of some high yielding, heat and drought
tolerant and blast disease resistant varieties like Barigom 28, 29, 30 and 33
along with recommended fertilizers for the projection plots free of cost.
The farmers including 69 field-level DAE officials were imparted training
on how will produce wheat properly using the modern seeds and technologies.
Dr Ilias Hossain, Principal Scientific Officer of BWMRI, told BSS that
the Barigom 33 is the ever latest variety which is blast disease resistant,
zinc-enriched, large grain size and high yielding (20 maunds per bigha).
He said most of the farmers have already completed their seed-sowing
activities as the period from November 15 to December 5 is the optimum for
seed sowing.
Dr Hossain, however, said the farmers who will sow wheat seed after
harvesting the late varieties of transplanted aman paddy can avail the scopes
of sowing some late varieties of wheat like Barigom 28, 30 and 32 until
December 10 for comparatively better yield.
Like the previous couple of years, wheat farming will exceed the target
set by the DAE in the region, he expected.