0.60m tonnes of Aus rice produced in Rajshahi division

RAJSHAHI, Nov 01 (BSS): Farmers have harvested around 0.60 million (6.07 lakh) tonnes of Aus rice from around 0.20 million (2.03 lakh) hectares of land as its harvesting process recently ended in all eight districts under Rajshahi division.

The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) had set a target of producing around 0.64 million (6.43 lakh) tonnes of Aus rice from 0.24 million (2.45 lakh) hectares of land in the division.

Sirajul Islam, Additional Director of DAE, Rajshahi, said the government had adopted diversified steps including incentives and technological support to promote Aus rice farming. He said the agricultural incentives and other supports are very important towards boosting Aush paddy production.

The beneficiary farmers were given five kilograms of high yielding seed, 20 kilograms of diammonium phosphate and 10 kilograms of potash fertilizers for Aus paddy cultivation on one bigha of land each free of cost under the government's agricultural incentive programme.

He also said the Aus farming is very much cost effective as it requires less production cost and faces less natural calamity.

Ismail Hossain, a farmer of Chhoto Rahi village under Godagari Upazila, had cultivated Binadhan-19 variety on around three bighas of land. He harvested paddy with a yield of 4.57 tonnes per hectare.

He is delighted over the yield as he got much yield compared to the conventional varieties.

Osman Gani, 53, a farmer of Bonpara village under Boraigram Upazila in Natore district, harvested 30 maunds of paddy from his one and a half bighas of land as he sold Brridhan-48 at Taka 940 per maund just after the harvest on the spot.

Another farmer Muhammad Alauddin, 48, got 40 maunds of the same variety from his two bighas of land in the same area.

Dr Fazlul Islam, Principal Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), told the news agency that the BRRIdhan-48 has become an icon of boosting Aus paddy production in the region including its vast Barind tract during the last couple of years. He said the variety is short duration and drought tolerant for the Aus season and it has been giving satisfactory yield while consuming comparatively low water in the area.

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.