'Flood Tolerant' variety can produce addl 6.0m tonnes paddy annually
Friday, 25 September 2009
RANGPUR, Sept 24 (BSS): Large-scale farming of flash-flood tolerant varieties of Aman crop can produce an additional six million tonnes of paddy annually to make the country completely self-reliant in food production and a rice exporting nation.
The concerned authorities are in the final stage to officially release these varieties this year to enable the farmers cultivating at larger scales from the next season and producing their own seeds onwards in the country.
Scientists of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have successfully completed necessary research, experiments and validation of these new flash-flood tolerant variety paddies.
Repeated successes in getting expected production of flood-tolerant paddy in Bangladesh and India in recent years have ushered in a new era in the disaster-prone agriculture sector of the country, sub-continent and other flood-prone countries.
The success was achieved through farming Swarna Sub1 along with three new Sub1 entries of BR11 Sub1, IR64 Sub1 and Sambamasuri Sub1 flood-tolerant varieties of paddy using participatory variety selection mother trial methods.
In Bangladesh, scientists and farmers successfully cultivated the paddy in on station BRRI Regional Station, Rangpur and on-farm farmers' fields at Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Sirajganj and Nilphamari districts during the past two years.
Scientists of BRRI, IRRI, Central Rice Research Institute and Norendra Dev University of Agriculture Technology (NDUAT) of India and University of California (UC, Davis and Riverside) developed and validated the technology.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) provided financial assistances through IRRI to increase seed productions and disseminate the technology under its Stress Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa and South Asia (STRASA) programme.
The scientists are hoping to overcome colossal crop losses being caused by flash floods to Aman paddy in 12 lakh hectares potential area annually in Bangladesh and 60 lakh hectares in UP, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal by large-scale farming of these varieties.
Farmers in northern Bangladesh got desired results in farming these Sub1 entries using Developed Agronomical Management Method during past two seasons and named those 'magical paddies' for 'miraculous survivals' even after 12-16 days' submergence.
Farmers Abdul Jabbar, Badsha Mian, Abul Hossain and Yasin Ali of village Jatrapur in Kurigram district told the news agency that their planted Swarna Sub1 variety paddy plants successfully sustained submergence recently for 11-15 days and are growing now excellent.
Manik has cultivated Swarna Sub1 in 14 bighas and Nuruzzaman planted BR11 Sub 1 in two bighas this season and the crops show excellent growth now in Darshona of Rangpur after remaining inundated for 10 to 14 days recently.
Deputy Director General (Research) of IRRI Dr Achim Dobbermann along with Dr MA Mazid, consultant of STRASA Dr MA Bari and Head of BRRI's Rangpur Regional Station MA Jalil Mridha visited the on-farm validation of Sub1 entries here recently.
"Last season, we have successfully cultivated these Sub1 varieties, growing plants of which sustained strains of floodwaters for 12-16 consecutive days in northern Bangladesh, then grew well and yielded better productions", Mazid told the news agency Thursday.
After conducting trials, preference analysis of Sub1 entries by farmers, extension providers, GOs and NGOs in the flood- prone areas, BRRI scientists are hoping approval by technical committee of the National Seed Board for seed production soon.
Rangpur BRRI Station in collaboration with IRRI under Submergence and Flood Prone Environment Agriculture Project of Consortium for Unfavourable Rice Environment tested and validated flood tolerant Swarna Sub1 and BR11 Sub1 since 2005-2007.
Talking to the news agency recently, Regional Project Coordinator of STRASA US Singh termed the success as epoch-making to largely increase global rice production and food security by overcoming negative impacts of ongoing climate changes.
"We have achieved huge success by developing and evaluating the advanced technology and are conducting research managements to produce seeds, quality seedlings and farming the paddy in submerged farm lands," he added.
These four varieties were invented through introducing Gene Sub1 by marker-aided selection, a molecular breeding method, at IRRI into Indian mega variety Swarna, Sambamasuri and Bangladeshi mega variety BR11 and Philippines variety IR 64.
Under the assistances of BRRI scientists, 735 farmers have cultivated these Sub1 entries in 18.65 acres under 11 upazilas of Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Sirajganj this year where the crop successfully sustained recent flash floods.
Head of Agriculture of RDRS MG Neogi told that his NGO expects to cultivate these varieties in 500 acres land involving 1,500 farmers next year against cultivation in 28 acres involving 85 farmers this year in greater Rangpur.
The concerned authorities are in the final stage to officially release these varieties this year to enable the farmers cultivating at larger scales from the next season and producing their own seeds onwards in the country.
Scientists of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have successfully completed necessary research, experiments and validation of these new flash-flood tolerant variety paddies.
Repeated successes in getting expected production of flood-tolerant paddy in Bangladesh and India in recent years have ushered in a new era in the disaster-prone agriculture sector of the country, sub-continent and other flood-prone countries.
The success was achieved through farming Swarna Sub1 along with three new Sub1 entries of BR11 Sub1, IR64 Sub1 and Sambamasuri Sub1 flood-tolerant varieties of paddy using participatory variety selection mother trial methods.
In Bangladesh, scientists and farmers successfully cultivated the paddy in on station BRRI Regional Station, Rangpur and on-farm farmers' fields at Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Sirajganj and Nilphamari districts during the past two years.
Scientists of BRRI, IRRI, Central Rice Research Institute and Norendra Dev University of Agriculture Technology (NDUAT) of India and University of California (UC, Davis and Riverside) developed and validated the technology.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) provided financial assistances through IRRI to increase seed productions and disseminate the technology under its Stress Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa and South Asia (STRASA) programme.
The scientists are hoping to overcome colossal crop losses being caused by flash floods to Aman paddy in 12 lakh hectares potential area annually in Bangladesh and 60 lakh hectares in UP, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal by large-scale farming of these varieties.
Farmers in northern Bangladesh got desired results in farming these Sub1 entries using Developed Agronomical Management Method during past two seasons and named those 'magical paddies' for 'miraculous survivals' even after 12-16 days' submergence.
Farmers Abdul Jabbar, Badsha Mian, Abul Hossain and Yasin Ali of village Jatrapur in Kurigram district told the news agency that their planted Swarna Sub1 variety paddy plants successfully sustained submergence recently for 11-15 days and are growing now excellent.
Manik has cultivated Swarna Sub1 in 14 bighas and Nuruzzaman planted BR11 Sub 1 in two bighas this season and the crops show excellent growth now in Darshona of Rangpur after remaining inundated for 10 to 14 days recently.
Deputy Director General (Research) of IRRI Dr Achim Dobbermann along with Dr MA Mazid, consultant of STRASA Dr MA Bari and Head of BRRI's Rangpur Regional Station MA Jalil Mridha visited the on-farm validation of Sub1 entries here recently.
"Last season, we have successfully cultivated these Sub1 varieties, growing plants of which sustained strains of floodwaters for 12-16 consecutive days in northern Bangladesh, then grew well and yielded better productions", Mazid told the news agency Thursday.
After conducting trials, preference analysis of Sub1 entries by farmers, extension providers, GOs and NGOs in the flood- prone areas, BRRI scientists are hoping approval by technical committee of the National Seed Board for seed production soon.
Rangpur BRRI Station in collaboration with IRRI under Submergence and Flood Prone Environment Agriculture Project of Consortium for Unfavourable Rice Environment tested and validated flood tolerant Swarna Sub1 and BR11 Sub1 since 2005-2007.
Talking to the news agency recently, Regional Project Coordinator of STRASA US Singh termed the success as epoch-making to largely increase global rice production and food security by overcoming negative impacts of ongoing climate changes.
"We have achieved huge success by developing and evaluating the advanced technology and are conducting research managements to produce seeds, quality seedlings and farming the paddy in submerged farm lands," he added.
These four varieties were invented through introducing Gene Sub1 by marker-aided selection, a molecular breeding method, at IRRI into Indian mega variety Swarna, Sambamasuri and Bangladeshi mega variety BR11 and Philippines variety IR 64.
Under the assistances of BRRI scientists, 735 farmers have cultivated these Sub1 entries in 18.65 acres under 11 upazilas of Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Sirajganj this year where the crop successfully sustained recent flash floods.
Head of Agriculture of RDRS MG Neogi told that his NGO expects to cultivate these varieties in 500 acres land involving 1,500 farmers next year against cultivation in 28 acres involving 85 farmers this year in greater Rangpur.