Harvest of early rice continues in Rangpur

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RANGPUR, Oct 10 (BSS): Farmers with the help of government and non-government organisations continued harvesting the cultivated early variety BRRI Dhan 33 variety T-Aman paddy on over 700 acres of land in the poverty-prone greater Rangpur districts, officials said.
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) invented the new technology of farming early variety T-Aman paddy after long research through Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) method to mitigate the seasonal job crisis of `Monga', especially during the months of Aswin and Kartik in the region, they said.
Under financial support of Research Initiatives Bangladesh (RIB) and technical assistance of the BRRI, the project on Early Rice Cultivation through DSR was launched last year for the first time on a larger scale by three NGOs: TMSS, USS, RDRS and government organisation BRDB under the Northwest Focal Area Forum.
Under the project, a total of 3,000 acres of land involving 10,000 farmers was brought under farming of the early variety BRRI-33 paddy last year in these districts that yielded excellent results.
This year, the rice has been cultivated in about 700 acres of land in five districts of Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari in greater Rangpur alone and Rangpur- Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) has alone helped 1,500 farmers in cultivating the same in over 500 acres of land.
This year, more NGOs including Solidarity, Jibika, Inter Cooperation Leaf, and some others have been involved by the BRRI in popularising farming of the early rice. Harvesting of the paddy began a week ago in the region and the yield rate of paddy stands at 4.5 to 5 tonnes per hectares on an average, officials said.
Harvesting of ripe early variety BRRI Dhan 33 paddy in these districts will be completed by October 20 next instead of traditional period of harvesting T-Aman paddy from late November, which also helps eliminate job crisis of over 40,000 farm labourers.
Scientists and experts of the BRRI and other organisations, concerned officials and beneficiary farmers and villagers are taking part in the crop-cutting ceremonies about six to eight weeks ahead of the traditional T-Aman harvesting period in the area, officials said.
Inventor of the technology and Chief Scientific Officer of Rangpur Station of BRRI Abdul Mazid told the news agency that large- scale farming of the rice would bring harvesting periods of all crops 40 to 60 days ahead than that of the traditional periods and the farmers would be benefited by and large through cultivating subsequent Rabi crops and vegetables in relay methods in the same land.
"The technology will expedite eradicating seasonal `Monga' from the region and increase the overall crop production at the earlier periods throughout the year and reduce risks of the natural calamities on the growing crops in the fields," he said.