Aman target set at 13.45mt for FY\\\'15

Farmers have already been engrossed in the preparatory activity for farming the paddy crop as the government set a little higher target for producing 13.454 million tonnes of Aman this cropping year (2014-15) from 5.634 million hectares of land.
The targeted amount is 3.31 percent up or 0.431 million tones more than last year's production that came to 13.023 million tonnes.
Of the total, the government expects 12.996 million tonnes of Transplanted Aman and 0.457 million tonnes of Broadcast Aman from 5.250 million and 0.384 million hectares of land respectively, officials said.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), farmers across the country are now passing busy days preparing seedbeds and getting ready for planting saplings at the end of this month.
Patuakhali is the highest producer of Aman, cultivating some 0.208 hectares of land. In Naogaon 0.2 million hectares of land, in Bogra 0.192 million hectares, in Chittagong 0.180 hectares and Rangpur 0.160 million hectares of land have been targeted for T-Aman respectively.
"We hope to achieve the target this season because of favourable weather and use of more areas of land for hybrid and high-yielding varieties," said Md Rafiqul Hasan, deputy director of the DAE. This year, a total of 4.02 million hectares of land has been targeted for HYV and 20,000 hectares for hybrid rice to boost production of the staple.
To inspire farmers for Aman cultivation, the Ministry of Agriculture has already disbursed incentives worth Tk 100 million among the growers. The incentive package includes seeds, fertilisers and cash, said the deputy director.
Under the incentive programme, each of the farmers received 10kg Nerica variety or 5kg high-yielding variety of Aman seeds to cultivate one bigha as input assistance free of cost, said officials. Besides, the farmers were also entitled to get 20kg DAP and 10kg MOP fertilisers for free.
According to sources, the Ministry of Agriculture this year gives top priority to increased cultivation and production of Aman rice, a major crop that requires less irrigation to grow. The government, they said, discourages boro cultivation to reduce pressure on groundwater.
The government introduced the incentive schemes to encourage farmers to grow more Aman during the next season. The incentives will help farmers, who earlier incurred losses due to natural calamities.
The government plans to add some 0.40 million metric tonnes of rice to the total harvest in the upcoming season. And the incentives are designed as the impetus.
T-Aman is the second-highest cereal crop produced in Bangladesh after Boro. It is usually grown during the rainy season between July and September.
"This year, we see quite good rainfall and favourable weather for Aman cultivation," said another DAE official, who expects more crops in the upcoming season. If there is sufficient rain throughout the period, farmers may have a bumper harvest.