RAJSHAHI, Jan 12 (BSS): Farmers of the vast Barind tract have become happy after getting some high yielding and short-duration rice varieties for Aman season as these are benefiting the farmers in many ways especially better yield.
In the wake of successful adoption of the new varieties, total yield of rice has been enhanced in the region comprising 25 Upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabgonj districts.
Kongress Tudu, a prominent farmer of Nimghutu village under Godagari Upazila, could not be successful in his 40-year rice farming life. But, he is now being benefited with expected yield he obtained in the recently concluded harvesting season.
In this season, he cultivated Brridhan-62, a zinc-enriched variety released by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), on two bigha of land. His harvested yield was 14 mounds per begha with production cost of around Taka 3,500. He sold paddy at Taka 700 per mound and his net profit was Taka 17,000 from his two-bigha farming.
Tudu mentioned that the farmers are getting five to seven mounds more yield from per bigha of land for the last couple of years by dint of the new varieties than the previous times. As most of the new varieties are short-duration, the farmers are availing the scope of earning extra money through farming various other crops like wheat, maize, mustard and vegetables on the fallow lands after harvesting of those.
Selim Hossain, another farmer of Potahar village, said that he had cultivated Brridhan-62 on five bighas of land and the yield was optimistic. He had to spend Taka 5,000 for per bigha of land yielding 18 mounds of paddy. The variety is drought tolerant and rate of chemical fertilizer and pesticides application was comparatively lower.
BRRI has, so far, released 24 high yielding varieties and the drought tolerant ones of those are being cultivated in the Barind area successfully, said Agriculturist ATM Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Manager (Agriculture) of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA).
By virtue of early harvesting, the characteristics of the varieties are very much helpful to cultivate various Rabi' crops like tomato, brinjal, mustard and vegetables for additional income before going to Boro' farming. The newly innovated Brridhan-62 variety has opened up a door of enormous prospects of mitigating zinc and protein deficiency besides fighting diarrhea and pneumonia-induced childhood deaths and stunting.
BRRI released the variety for all over the country last year after a latest breakthrough in research in the field. It's a short-duration high-yielding variety of rice which could be cultivated in Aman season.
Dr Khairul Bashar, Country Manager of Harvest Plus Bangladesh, told BSS that the BRRI-62 has been the most-discussed rice variety as it is a zinc-fortified breed and have been developed to meet the necessary requirement of micronutrient for a human body coupled with ensuring food security.
