RANGPUR, Nov 07 (BSS): The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a production target of over 3.19 million tonnes of clean Boro rice from 0.77 million hectares of land for Rangpur division during this Rabi season.
"Field level officials of the DAE and other organisations concerned have already taken steps to make the Boro farming programme a success this season," Horticulture Specialist of the DAE at its regional office Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam told the news agency.
The farmers are now busy with harvesting Aman rice and sowing seed of Rabi crops like early potato, maize and winter vegetables on their lands and they will start preparing Boro seedbed in full swing from this month-end.
"Transplantation of Boro rice seedling will begin on low-lying lands, beels, haors, flood-prone and riverine areas from mid-December to complete harvest of the major cereal crop there before commencement of the next rainy season," Mr Islam said.
Under the programme, the DAE has fixed a target of producing over 2.08 million tonnes of clean Boro rice from 0.49 million hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat in Rangpur agriculture region in the division.
In addition, over 1.10 million tonnes of clean Boro rice will be produced from about 0.27 million hectares of land in three districts of Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh in Dinajpur agriculture region of Rangpur division this season.
"The farmers will produce 1.0 million tonnes of hybrid variety Boro rice from 0.21 million hectares of land, 2.18 million tonnes of high yielding variety rice from 0.55 million hectares and 3,952 tonnes of local variety Boro rice from 2,037 hectares of land," Islam added.
Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office Md Moniruzzaman said steps have been taken to ensure smooth supply of seed, fertilisers, electricity and delivering technologies to make the Boro farming programme a success.
The government is distributing three tonnes of Boro rice seeds, three tonnes of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and 1.50 tonnes of Muriate of Potash (MoP) fertilisers among 1,500 small and marginal farmers as agriculture incentives in Rangpur region alone this season.
Each of the 1,500 beneficiary farmers are getting 20 kg seed of Boro rice, 20 kg DAP and 10 kg MoP fertilisers free of costs as incentives to cultivate Boro rice on one bigha of land during this Rabi season in the region.
"The farmers will adopt conservation agriculture technologies like Alternate Drying and Wetting irrigation method on larger scale while farming Boro rice to use less irrigation water and save electricity for reducing Boro rice cultivation cost," Moniruzzaman added.
Rangpur regional additional director of the DAE Shah Alam said the DAE and other agriculture-related organisations under the Ministry of Agriculture will extend assistance the farmers to make the Boro rice framing programme successful.
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