Aman farmers to get free inputs worth Tk 400m
FE REPORT | Thursday, 23 May 2024
An incentive of Tk 400 million has been declared for farmers with an eye to boosting the planting and production of transplanted Aman this year.
An estimated 0.6 million small and marginal farmers in 61 districts will receive free seeds and fertilisers under this scheme, according to a notification from agriculture ministry.
Each farmer will receive 5.0-kg high-yielding variety of seeds, 10-kg di-ammonium phosphate and 10-kg muriate of potash, which are essential for cultivating high-yielding T-Aman on one bigha of land (33 decimals).
These incentives are being provided from the ministry's regular budget for agricultural rehabilitation assistance.
The notification confirming this has already been sent to upazila level, stated Kamrul Islam Bhuiyan, a spokesperson for the ministry.
The distribution of these incentives at the field level would commence soon, he said.
Aman is the second-largest cropping season in the country, accounting for 38 per cent of the total rice output.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, 5.87-million hectares were cultivated during Aman season last year, producing 15.8-million tonnes of rice.
The government aims to produce 17-million tonnes of rice in the upcoming Aman season.
Food ministry also procures between 0.5 and 0.75-million tonnes of Aman rice, significantly contributing to its safety-net programmes.