Incentives for haor farmers to boost boro output

The government will distribute tools at free of costs to the farmers in haor areas to help maximise boro paddy production in the country, officials said.
The incentives programme will be implemented at a cost of Tk 106 million.
"About 55 per cent of total rice production in the country comes during boro season. The cultivation of boro paddy mostly depends on irrigation. So we have taken this programme to support the farmers," Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury told reporters.
She announced the incentives programme for farmers in haor districts at the conference room of the ministry on Wednesday.
Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory will supply machines to the government.
The Department of Agriculture Extension will distribute 'reaper' and 'rice planter' machines to the farmers' clubs such as Integrated Crops Management (ICM), Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Common Interested Group (CIG).
Upazila and union levels agriculture officials will preserve and maintain the machines. Upazila Agriculture Rehabiliation and Implementation Committee will select farmers' groups for distributing the tools.  
The haor districts are Sunamganj, Netrokona, Kishorganj, Sylhet, Moulvibazaar, Habiganj and Brahmanbaria.   
In the haor districts, boro is being cultivated on 0.92 million hectares of land that produce 3.56 million tonnes of boro paddy production annually.   
The incentives will help increase borro paddy production in haor areas, save boro paddy crops from flash floods and onrush hill water and inspire the farmers to follow modern agriculture practice needed to boost output.
    talhabinhabib@yahoo.com