Farmers achieve Boro plantation target
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
S M Jahangir
Local farmers have achieved the official Boro plantation target of o4.8 million hectares, brightening the prospect of a bumper crop output in the current season, official sources said
Agriculturists and extension officials, however, see the prevailing power crisis as a major challenge for attaining the target of 19 million tonnes of rice production, set by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) for the current season.
"The countrywide plantation of Boro paddy for the current season has just concluded. Our preliminary assessment is that this year the Boro acreage has reached the official target," said a senior official of the DAE's Field Service Wing.
The official added: "We are upbeat about a robust Boro output this season, if the weather conditions do favour to the farmers."
When his attention was drawn, the official admitted that ensuring of uninterrupted power supply for smoothly running irrigation pumps remained a challenge.
Taking the country's power shortage into account, he also said concerted efforts from the government agencies, especially the power division and the ministry of agriculture ministry, have already been made to facilitate smooth supply of electricity to Boro cultivators across the country.
To this effect, necessary measures have been initiated, so that the Boro farmers get uninterrupted supply of electricity at night - from 11 pm to 6 am - for running their irrigation pumps, sources said.
Field-level sources, however, informed the FE that despite the government steps, Boro cultivators in most of the cultivation areas were facing frequent power outages.
A senior executive of an agro-business company informed this correspondent from Jessore that Boro croppers were getting electricity only for 5 to six hours a day.
He also said a good member of farmers have already switched over to diesel-fired water pumps following the electricity crisis, which would push up their overall cultivation cost.
"Although the situation is yet to turn serious, the farmers of Jessore region are worried over what would happen in the days ahead," he said, adding that the same situation was prevailing in many others areas.
Like the executive, some other agriculturists and experts suggested that the government should act properly to ensure sufficient supply of electricity for the sake of reaping a bumper Boro production.
To help achieve such a massive target, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) earmarked a 4.8-million hectares of land for Boro plantation in the 2009-10 cropping season.
This year's Boro production target is 1.0 million tonnes higher than that of last season.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Bangladesh produced 17.8 million tonnes in the last Boro season against the target of 18 million tones.
Last year, Boro was planted on 4.41 million hectares of land against the government target of 45 million hectares, official sources said.
In view of the price surge of rice both in the global and domestic markets, analysts and agriculturists see this year's Boro cropping season very vital for the country's food security.
Local farmers have achieved the official Boro plantation target of o4.8 million hectares, brightening the prospect of a bumper crop output in the current season, official sources said
Agriculturists and extension officials, however, see the prevailing power crisis as a major challenge for attaining the target of 19 million tonnes of rice production, set by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) for the current season.
"The countrywide plantation of Boro paddy for the current season has just concluded. Our preliminary assessment is that this year the Boro acreage has reached the official target," said a senior official of the DAE's Field Service Wing.
The official added: "We are upbeat about a robust Boro output this season, if the weather conditions do favour to the farmers."
When his attention was drawn, the official admitted that ensuring of uninterrupted power supply for smoothly running irrigation pumps remained a challenge.
Taking the country's power shortage into account, he also said concerted efforts from the government agencies, especially the power division and the ministry of agriculture ministry, have already been made to facilitate smooth supply of electricity to Boro cultivators across the country.
To this effect, necessary measures have been initiated, so that the Boro farmers get uninterrupted supply of electricity at night - from 11 pm to 6 am - for running their irrigation pumps, sources said.
Field-level sources, however, informed the FE that despite the government steps, Boro cultivators in most of the cultivation areas were facing frequent power outages.
A senior executive of an agro-business company informed this correspondent from Jessore that Boro croppers were getting electricity only for 5 to six hours a day.
He also said a good member of farmers have already switched over to diesel-fired water pumps following the electricity crisis, which would push up their overall cultivation cost.
"Although the situation is yet to turn serious, the farmers of Jessore region are worried over what would happen in the days ahead," he said, adding that the same situation was prevailing in many others areas.
Like the executive, some other agriculturists and experts suggested that the government should act properly to ensure sufficient supply of electricity for the sake of reaping a bumper Boro production.
To help achieve such a massive target, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) earmarked a 4.8-million hectares of land for Boro plantation in the 2009-10 cropping season.
This year's Boro production target is 1.0 million tonnes higher than that of last season.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Bangladesh produced 17.8 million tonnes in the last Boro season against the target of 18 million tones.
Last year, Boro was planted on 4.41 million hectares of land against the government target of 45 million hectares, official sources said.
In view of the price surge of rice both in the global and domestic markets, analysts and agriculturists see this year's Boro cropping season very vital for the country's food security.