RANGPUR, Jan 3, 2022 (BSS) - Farmers have exceeded the fixed production
target of Aman rice by 2.60 percent this season despite last year's flood's
wrath in Rangpur agriculture region.

   After getting a bumper production of the crop, farmers are also happy with
its excellent prices between Taka 1,100 and Taka 1,150 per maund (every 40
kgs) in the local markets.

   Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers
have already completed Aman rice harvest on the total cultivated land area of
6,09,723 hectares by last week in the region.

   "Farmers have produced 17, 63,950 tonnes of clean Aman rice (26, 45,925
tonnes of paddy) exceeding the production target of 17,19,231 tonnes of clean
rice, making surplus by 44,719 tonnes or 2.60 percent," Deputy Director of
the DAE's Rangpur region Md. Mahbubur Rahman told BSS today.

   Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing 17,19,231 tonnes of clean
Aman rice (25,78,846 tonnes of paddy) from 6,12,451 hectares of land for the
region this season.

   Before the last year's flood, farmers transplanted Aman rice seedlings on
6,14,295 hectares of land, exceeding the fixed target by 1,844 hectares this
season in the region.

  "However, the deluge damaged standing Aman crop on 4,572 hectares of land,"
Rahman said, adding that Aman rice plants grew superbly on the rest of
6,09,723 hectares of land amid excellent climate conditions resulting in
bumper output.

   Farmers have achieved an excellent average yield rate of 2.89 tonnes of
clean Aman rice per hectare of land following cultivation of hybrid and high
yielding varieties of the crop on more land in the region.

   The produced Aman rice include 2,12,390 tonnes of hybrid variety from
61,057 hectares of land, 15,16,466 tonnes of high yielding variety from
5,29,114 hectares and 35,093 tonnes of local variety Aman rice from 19,552
hectares of land.

   "After harvesting Aman rice, farmers are continuing the process of sowing
seeds of potato, winter vegetables and other Rabi crops on the same land,
also creating huge jobs for farm-laborers," Rahman added.

   Talking to BSS, farmers Aiyub Ali, Mohsin Ali, Hamidul Islam, Akram
Hossain, Dula Chandra Roy and Iqbal Hossain of Rangpur Sadar upazila said
that they have achieved excellent production of Aman rice this season.

   Farmer Ariful Haque of village Najirdigar in Rangpur Sadar said he has
completed harvest of his cultivated Aman rice on seven acres of land and got
over 50 maunds of paddy per acre of land this season.

   "Farmers are happy getting excellent market prices of Aman paddy between
Taka 1,100 and Taka 1,150 per maund in the local markets," said farmer Manik
Mian who has also got bumper production in the village of Darshana of Rangpur
Sadar.