Rajshahi DAE targets 0.90m tonnes of Aman production

FE Team | Published: August 13, 2018 22:07:11

RAJSHAHI, Aug 13 (BSS): The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) here has set a target of producing around 0.90 million tonnes of transplanted aman rice in the region including its vast Barind tract during the current season.
Additional Director of DAE SM Mustafizur Rahman told the news agency on Monday that the rice is expected to be produced from around 0.33 million hectares of land in Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabgonj and Natore districts.
The enthusiastic farmers are now very busy transplanting T-Aman seedlings everywhere in the region amid suitable climate condition with frequent rainfall.
Agriculturist Rahman said congenial weather is helping the farmers' transplant Aman seedlings this season and the fixed target is expected to be achieved.
He said DAE are providing all necessary assistances to farmers adding seedlings transplantation on 0.28 million hectares was completed till Sunday last.
Dr Tomal Lota Aditya, director (Research) of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), said BRRI has, so far, developed 41 Aman varieties including 39 inbreeds which are suitable for cultivation in the country.
"We have released seven drought tolerant varieties including one aromatic for the Barind area," she said, adding that some of those have gained popularity among farmers during the last couple of years.
She also mentioned that the conventional Parija and Swarna varieties are being replaced by some of the new varieties.
DAE official Rahman said Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities (BMDA) is ready to provide supplementary irrigation if required.
In addition, the farmers are keeping thousands of their shallow tube wells ready for supplementary irrigation if any drought situation occurs during the transplantation and farming period of the major cereal crop in the region, he said.
The farmers have already prepared seedbeds on more than 19,184 hectares of land in the region this time. Jaidur Rahman, a farmer of Karnahar village under Paba Upazila, said he will cultivate aman paddy on around 35 bighas of land and he completed transplantation on around 20 bighas.
They cultivate more than seven high yielding, two hybrid varieties during the Aman season and more or less five of those are very much popular among the farmers, said ATM Rafiqul Islam, project director of BMDA.