RAJSHAHI, Aug 26 (BSS): Farmers are happy with satisfactory yield of newly harvested BRRI Dhan-48 in the region, including its vast Barind tract, in the current season.
Amidst this glowing atmosphere the farmers are now very busy harvesting the paddy variety in the region as part of their effort to mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change.
BRRIDhan-48, a short duration and drought tolerant paddy variety innovated by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) for Aus season, has gradually been gaining popularity among farmers in the Barind tract for the last couple of years.
"I got 22 mounds of paddy per bigha through cultivating the variety on seven bighas of land this year," said Shafiul Alam, 39, a farmer of Matikata village under Godagari upazila in the district.
He, however, could get hardly 10 mounds of paddy per bigha if he cultivates Parija, a conventional variety of the region.
Sabiar Rahman, 58, another farmer of Pirijpur village under the same upazila, expressed his happiness over cultivating the variety saying its average yield is from 15 to 23 mounds per bigha.
He mentioned that the conventional parija variety is being replaced by the new variety which is a good sign for the region in terms of boosting yield.
All the government and non-government organizations concerned are promoting the variety in the Barind tract as effective means of addressing the adverse impact of climate change.
Under a project titled, 'Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)', around 1,000 volunteers are working in the Barind region to motivate farmers to promote water-saving crops like BRRI Dhan-48 paddy farming.
Barind Station of On-Farm Research Division (OFRD) under Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) has inserted the paddy variety into its four-crop based cropping pattern in a bid to lessen the gradually mounting pressure on underground water in the drought-prone area.
DASCOH Foundation and Swiss Red Cross are jointly implementing the project in 39 UPs and three municipalities in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts with financial support from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation-SDC since 2015.
Dr Shakhawat Hossain, team leader of OFRD (Barind Station), said there has been an enormous prospect of bringing harvesting intensity coupled with increasing food production through a successful promotion of the Aus-Aman-Lentil-Mungbean cropping pattern.
In Gaibandha, harvest of T-Aus variety paddy, locally known as Barshali Dhan, is nearing completion in all the seven upazilas of the district.
Sources with the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said a target was set to cultivate the paddy on 4800 hectares of land in the district during the current season.
But farmers being encouraged by government introduced incentives surpassed fixed farming target this season.
The variety includes BRRI Dhan 28, BRRI Dhan 42, BRRI Dhan 43, BRRI Dhan 48, BR 26, Parija, and Qudrat, said an official of the DAE.
Talking to the news agency, acting deputy director of DAE Showkat Osman said 98 per cent harvest of the variety has already been completed and the rest would be finished by August 31.
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