Photo : BSS

By Md Mamun Islam
 
RANGPUR, June 18, 2026 (BSS) - Despite excessive rainfall during the harvest season, farmers in the Rangpur agricultural region produced an all-time record 23,09,364 tonnes of clean Boro rice (34,64,046 tonnes in paddy terms) this time.
 
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), this year's record production of 23,09,364 tonnes of clean Boro rice is higher by 7,092 tonnes than the previous record production of 23,02,272 tonnes of clean Boro rice last year.
 
"Farmers have also exceeded the set production target of producing 22,94,195 tonnes of clean Boro rice by 649 tonnes this season," Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Shirajul Islam told BSS this afternoon.
 
The record Boro rice yield has been achieved as a result of various realistic steps taken by the present government since assuming power in last February to enhance rice production for ensuring national food security.
 
These steps included using the latest technology, proper agricultural management, incentives, encouraging farmers to increase cultivation of high-yielding and hybrid varieties of Boro rice, and ensuring adequate supply of fertilizer and electricity for irrigation.
 
Previously, farmers produced 22,83,459 tonnes of clean Boro rice in 2024 and 22, 40,429 tonnes in 2023 and 21,93,000 tonnes of clean Boro rice in 2022 in Rangpur agricultural region.
 
Earlier, the government through the DAE had fixed a target of producing 23,08,715 tonnes of clean Boro rice (34,63,072 tonnes of paddy) from 5,90,094 hectares of land for all five districts in Rangpur agricultural region this season. 
 
"However, enthusiastic farmers finally transplanted Boro rice seedlings on 5,09,195 hectares of land exceeding the fixed farming target by 0.02 percent this time," Islam said.
 
However, standing Boro rice crop of 31 hectares of land was damaged due to excessive rainfall and hailstorms, and farmers in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat districts across the region harvested crops on 5,09,164 hectares of land.
 
Being inspired by the DAE, farmers had mostly cultivated high-yielding and hybrid varieties of Boro rice under cultivation in more land in the mainland and low-lying and char areas, resulting in bumper yield of Boro rice.
 
In addition, farmers had adopted the latest conservation agricultural technologies such as alternative wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation methods and organic pest management, resulting in increased rice production at lower costs.
 
On the other hand, frequent rains had allowed farmers to use less lifted underground water for irrigation, which has also saved them irrigation costs and made Boro rice cultivation slightly more profitable this year than in previous seasons.
 
After completing harvest earlier this week, farmers finally produced 23,09,364 tonnes of clean Boro rice from 5,09,164 hectares of land. 
 
"The excellent average yield rate of clean Boro rice stands at 4.54 tonnes per hectare this season," added Agriculturist Islam. 
 
Talking to BSS, farmers Ramjan Ali, Abul Kashem, Isahaque Ali and Mahtab Uddin of different villages in Rangpur Sadar upazila said they had cultivated Boro rice on one to two acres of land each and got a super bumper yield this season.
 
"We are happy to get better market prices of Boro paddy at rates between Taka 1,120 and 1,250 per mound (every 40 kgs) in local markets," said farmer Mohsin Ali of village Kathihara under Sadar upazila of Rangpur district.