Farmers exceed Aman rice farming target in Rangpur. Photo : BSS

RANGPUR, Sept 11, 2025 (BSS) - Despite drought-like conditions due to lowrainfall during the initial stages of seedling transplantation, farmers havealready exceeded the set target for Aman rice cultivation by 0.04 percent inthe Rangpur agricultural region.
 
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) saidtransplantation of Aman rice seedlings will end by September 15. Tender Amanrice plants are growing splendidly following recent rainfalls making farmershappy.
 
Farmers have engaged their all-out efforts in nursing their growing Aman riceplants, cleaning weeds and applying necessary pesticides on vast tracts of crop lands that have already worn an eye-catching look.
 
The DAE officials said farmers have already transplanted Aman rice seedlingson 6.20,678 hectares of land, 100.04 percent of the targeted land area for cultivation of the crop, till Wednesday.
 
"Farmers are expected to bring little more land under Aman rice farming as seedling transplantation will continue till September 15 next," Acting Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Md Sirajul Islam told BSS today.
 
The DAE has fixed a target of producing 20,10,505 tonnes of clean Aman rice (30,15,757 tonnes in terms of paddy) from 6,20,430 hectares of land for all five districts in the region this season.
 
The target includes production of 16,85,683 tonnes of high yielding varietiesof Aman rice from 5,24,070 hectares, 3,14,162 tonnes of hybrid varieties from 85,450 hectares and 20,660 tonnes of local varieties of Aman rice from 10,910 hectares of land.
 
The interim government through the DAE distributed high-quality Aman rice seeds and fertilisers among small and marginal farmers as incentives to assist them in cultivating the crop smoothly.
 
Besides, steps had been taken to prepare the seedbeds for late varieties of Aman rice in highlands and floating seedbeds in low-lying areas so that there was no shortage of seedlings due to floods, if any in August and September.
 
The field-level agricultural officers have been providing all necessary support and latest technology to farmers to ensure successful cultivation of Aman rice in this region," Islam added.
 
Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities and farmers have put irrigation pumps into operation for transplantation of Aman rice seedlings to provide supplementary irrigation to Aman rice fields.
 
Talking to BSS, a number of farmers of different villages of Rangpur today said their tender Aman rice plants were growing superbly amid favourable climatic conditions.
 
Farmers Manik Mia of Darshona village, Ariful Haque of Najirdigar village and Isahaque Ali of Kathihara village in Rangpur Sadar upazila said their growing Aman rice plants would not require supplementary irrigation following frequent seasonal rainfalls.
 
"The superbly growing tender Aman rice plants have created greenish blankets on vast tracts of crop fields in Rangpur and other districts of the region predicting a bumper rice production despite a prolonged drought-like situation," farmer Manik Mia said.
 
Md Mamunur Rashid, a PhD Fellow in the DAE at Dinajpur, Haji Mohammad Danesh University of Science and Technology, said farmers have achieved the fixed farming target of Aman rice adapting to adverse conditions like droughts.
 
"A bumper production of Aman rice is likely as tender plants are growing superbly following recent rainfalls in Rangpur agricultural region this season," Rashid added.