RAJSHAHI, Sept 8, 2020 (BSS) – Aush paddy harvesting has been going on in full swing in the division amidst bumper yield making the farmers with a huge gasp of delight .
The paddy harvesting has not only generated scopes of ensuring food security but also created job opportunities for many people amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
High officials and researchers of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) are seen witnessing crop cutting and sample collection programmes at different areas to assess the yield of the newly released varieties like Brri dhan 82.
Sudhendra Nath Roy, Additional Director of DAE, Rajshahi, said farmers of the division were provided 391 combined Harvester machines and 359 Reaper machines this year to ease harvesting paddy in due time.
A combined harvester can harvest, thresh, clean and pack rice on three bighas of land within only an hour.
Simultaneously, the farmers are very much happy after getting bumper paddy yield besides availing the scopes of spot selling of the newly harvested paddy, Dr Aminul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer of BRRI, told BSS.
According to DAE statistics harvesting of paddy on around 55 percent lands have, so far, been completed in Rajshahi region comprising the districts of Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore and Chapainawabganj, while around 84 percent in Bogura zone consisting of Bogura, Joypurhat, Pabna and Sirajgonj districts,
Proshen Ekka, 45, a farmer of Ganigram village under Godagari Upazila of Rajshahi district, harvested 18 mounds of paddy from his one bigha of land of Brridhan-82 and just after the harvesting sold at Taka 950 per mound on the spot on Monday.
Suresh Minji, 53, harvested 36 mounds from his two bighas of land of the same variety at the same area.
He 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 and Brri Dhan 82 has started gaining popularity with equal yield.
Both the two short duration and drought tolerant paddy varieties for the Aush season have been producing satisfactory yield with scanty rainfall and limited irrigation in the area, Suresh added.
Mamunur Rahman, 48, a farmer of Bijoynagar village under Godagari Upazila, said he has harvested 18 mounds per bigha after cultivating the Brridhan 82 variety on around eight bighas of land and the yield makes him delighted by dint of its short-duration characteristics.
Expressing his satisfaction over cultivating the variety, he mentioned that the conventional parija variety is being replaced by the new variety which is a good sign for the region in terms of boosting yield.
He also said that the BRRI Dhan-82 variety has brought enormous benefit for them in cultivating paddy in drought prone environment.
By virtue of early harvesting characteristics, the variety supplements the farming of transplanted Aman and various Rabi crops like tomato, brinjal, mustard and vegetables as the region is conventionally famous for farming these crops abundantly.
Meanwhile, 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 of 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.
Identically, the farmers have brought 1,639 hectares more lands under the paddy farming compared to the target set by the DAE after the best uses of facilities provided by the government.
Sudhen Roy said the government has adopted diversified steps including incentives and technological support to promote aush rice farming.
He said the agricultural incentives and other supports are very important towards boosting aush paddy production.
Agriculturist Sudhen Roy 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.