SYLHET, Apr 24: A good number of farmers in the greater Sylhet region are preparing for cultivation of Aus paddy as the Kharif-1 season is started.
The DAE in the last year had revised the division's target from its initial target of 133,028 hectares to 176,919 hectares of land in a bid to recoup the loss of Boro paddy by the repeated and early floods. However, the total Aus paddy cultivated area stood at 170, 782 hectares of land that season.
An official at the DAE, Sylhet divisional office, said on Tuesday a targeted programme has already been taken up to bring 174,824 hectares of land under Aus cultivation in all the four districts of the division. It includes 65,703 hectares of land in Sylhet, 49,809 hectares in Moulvibazar, 46,466 hectares in Habiganj and 12,846 hectares in Sunamganj.
The total target of production has been set at 440,807 tonnes of rice, the official added.
Sources said seedbeds of the paddy variety have been prepared. Till today it had been done on 1771 hectares of land in the region, the official said.
Meanwhile, disbursement of the farm incentive among listed poor farmers for Aus cultivation has been going on in the division while it would be completed by the end of this month. Earlier the government sanctioned Tk 527,17,500 in assistance for the poor farmers in the division in a bid to help them cultivating Aus paddy during the ongoing Kharif-1 season.
Md Altabur Rahman, additional director of DAE, said under the special incentive programme, 33,000 bighas of land would be cultivated against the last year's 25,700 bighas. It includes 10,000 bighas in each of Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts and 3000 bighas in Sunamganj district.
Besides, Tk 11641,115 has been allocated as incentive for the marginal farmers in the three districts for cultivating Nerika paddy. It includes, Tk 1887,750 for 900 farmers of Sylhet, Tk 2517,000 for 1200 farmers in Moulvibazar and Tk 7236,375 for 3450 farmers in Habiganj district.
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