0.67m tonnes Aus paddy output likely in Rajshahi division

RAJSHAHI, May 09 (BSS): Over 0.67 million (6.76 lakh) tonnes of Aus paddy are expected to be produced from 0.22 million (2.23 lakh) hectares of land in the division during the current season.
Target has been set to produce 0.53 million (5.38 lakh) tonnes of paddy from 0.17 million (1.71 lakh) hectares of land in Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj and Natore districts under Rajshahi agricultural zone while another 0.14 million (1.48 lakh) tonnes from 51,105 hectares in Bogura, Joypurhat, Pabna and Sirajganj districts under Bogura agricultural zone.
Target has also been set to grow seedlings on 11,254 hectares of land to make the transplantation process a total success.
In many areas, the farmers have started transplanting Aus paddy on limited scale and the advanced varieties in particular.
Khayer Uddin Mollah, Zonal Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said a total of 90,600 small and marginal farmers received seed and fertilisers as incentives worth around Taka 70.8 million (7.08 crore) for the cultivation of Aus paddy in the current Kharif-1 season in the division.
The farmers were given five kilograms of high yielding seed, 20 kilograms of diammonium phosphate and 10 kilograms of potash fertilizers for aush paddy cultivation on one bigha of land each free of cost under the government's agricultural incentive programme.
Zonab Ali, 35, a farmer of Rajabari village under Godagari Upazila, received the incentives expressing his gratitude to the government for standing beside them.