Farmers get bumper wheat in N-region

RANGPUR, May 24 (BSS): The farmers achieved a bumper wheat production exceeding the fixed production target by 4.43 per cent despite shortfall in farming target by 8.16 per cent in northern Bangladesh during this season. Adoption of the latest conservation agriculture (CA)-based farming technologies, use of high yielding variety quality seeds and favourable climatic condition helped achieving the bumper wheat production this time, officials and experts said. The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) had fixed a record target of brining 2,61,727 hectares land to produce 7,32,835 tonnes wheat in all 16 northern districts during the just concluded Rabi season. But, the farmers cultivated wheat in 2,40,379 hectares land this season in the region, which is less by 21,348 hectares (8.16 per cent) than the fixed target, the DAE sources said. However, the farmers produced 7,65,270 tonnes wheat, which is 32,435 tonnes (4.43 percent) higher than the fixed production target for the region as they got average yield rate of around 3.19 tonnes per hectare against the targeted yield rate of 2.80 tonnes. "It became possible for large-scale farming of high yielding BARI Gom 26, Pradip, Bijoy, Protiva, Sotabdi, Sourav, Gaurab, Swarna varieties wheat and the latest and proven CA-based technologies," experts said. Dinajpur Hub Manager of Cereal Systems Initiatives for South Asia (CSISA) Dr MA Mazid today told that adoption of CA-based technologies by the farmers while preparing their lands and sowing wheat also saved substantial quantity of seeds at many places. Officials and experts in the DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, CSISA, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute and Wheat Research Centre (WRC) expressed their satisfaction on bumper wheat production this season. Director of Wheat Research Centre at Nashipur in Dinajpur Dr Harun Ar Rashid told that large-scale use of high yielding variety quality seeds and latest technologies amid favourable climatic conditions helped achieving bumper wheat production. Talking to the news agency, Liaison Scientist for International Rice Research Institute in Bangladesh Dr MA Hamid Miah said that expanded use of the CA-based technologies could increase wheat yields further at substantially reduced production costs. The experts expressed satisfactions on 4.2 to 4.5 tonnes wheat yield of BARI Gom 26, Pradip and Bijoy varieties using the CSISA delivered bed planting with Power Tiller Operated Seeding with single tillage. Talking to the news agency farmers Ahsan Habib, Abdul Monnaf, Mrs. Ivy Begum and Abdul Mannan of Mominpur village in Rangpur said that they got 4.5 tonnes BARI Gom 26 per hectare using the CA-based technologies this season. Similarly, farmers Moazzem Hossain, Norendra Chandra Singha, Nitai Chandra and Golam Sarwar of Baliadangi Upazila in Thakurgaon said that they got 4.2 to 4.5 tonnes BARI Gom 26 using the same technologies this season.