N-district fields draped with blooming mustard plants
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
RANGPUR, Nov 30 (BSS): The farmers are sowing mustard seeds with much enthusiasm this year.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) fixed a target of producing 0.55 million tonnes mustard in the country during this season.
The fields where mustard seeds were sown early are now in full bloom in the vast char areas and fallow lands on the river basins. The sowing of mustard seeds has been continuing in full swing in the other areas.
The blooming mustard fields now wear an eye-catching yellow look in the vast char areas of Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Bogra, Sirajganj and Pabna districts on the river basins.
Sowing of the seed will complete soon as harvesting of the T- Aman paddy and early vegetables is now nearing completion almost everywhere including the country's northern region.
Meanwhile, the DAE, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and some non-government and other organisations have been distributing quality mustard seeds. The banks are disbursing agriculture loans on soft terms among the farmers to help achieve the target of mustard farming this season.
Of the national target, a total of 2,49,417 tonnes of mustard seeds will be produced from a total of 2,26,980 hectares of land in the country's 16 northern districts during the current season.
The farmers including the landless char people on the river side and in char areas have been showing more interest this season than before, after reaping repeated bumper harvest and obtaining lucrative prices for mustard in the recent years.
Additional Director of DAE's Rangpur Zone Mohsin Ali told the news agency that adequate training, technical assistance, inputs, quality seeds, the latest agri-technologies and agri-loans were being provided to the farmers for making the programme successful.
Mustard will be cultivated in 3,012 hectares in Rangpur, 7,533 in Gaibandha, 1,146 in Lalmonirhat, 1,428 in Nilphamari, 11,357 in Kurigram, 6,571 in Dinajpur, 6,084 in Thakurgaon and 379 hectares in Panchagarh districts under Rangpur Zone.
Harvest of flood tolerant paddies to increase rice production
Another report adds: Excellent harvest of the flood tolerant variety paddies after its large-scale farming and harvests in the country this season has ushered a new hope to increase rice production and food security under adverse climatic conditions.
Rice scientists and experts told the news agency that the farmers got average yields rates of all four flood tolerant varieties of Swarna Sub 1 (BRRI dhan 51), BR 11 Sub 1 (BRRI dhan 52), IR 64 sub 1 and Sambamasuri in between 4.25 to 5.60 tonnes paddy per hectare.
After repeated successes in recent years, the government went to large-scale and commercial farming of these paddies and some 27,000 farmers cultivated the same in over 2,000 hectares land in 51 Upazilas of 23 districts this season.
The farmers successfully cultivated these paddies with the assistances of the STRASA-IRRI (Stress Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa & South Asia and International Rice Research Institute) Project.
Bangladesh Country Manager of IRRI-STRASA Project Dr MA Bari said the flood- tolerant variety paddy plants sustain submergence of 10 to 17 days under floodwaters to give normal yields when traditional T-Aman plants cannot sustain longer submergence.
Farmers Ariful Islam Batul, Sirajul Islam, Ekramul Haque, Joynal Abedin and Rezaul Karim of village Najirdigar in Rangpur said they cultivated the flood tolerant variety paddies for the first time in their low-lying lands this season.
Farmers Jiten Chandra, Manik Mian, Nuruzzaman, Shyamol Chandra, Rafikul, and Mohafell of Kurigram, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Nilphamari also cultivated these paddies after getting excellent yields last year even after longer submergence.
They opined for further expansion of farming these paddies in future to have additional rice productions from the country's vast flood-prone areas and suggested for quicker dissemination of the technologies among the farmers.
Talking to the news agency Dr MA Bari said that there are some 1.2 million hectare potential flood-prone low-lying lands in the country from where an additional 6 million tonnes paddy can be produced annually by large-scale farming of these paddies.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) fixed a target of producing 0.55 million tonnes mustard in the country during this season.
The fields where mustard seeds were sown early are now in full bloom in the vast char areas and fallow lands on the river basins. The sowing of mustard seeds has been continuing in full swing in the other areas.
The blooming mustard fields now wear an eye-catching yellow look in the vast char areas of Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Bogra, Sirajganj and Pabna districts on the river basins.
Sowing of the seed will complete soon as harvesting of the T- Aman paddy and early vegetables is now nearing completion almost everywhere including the country's northern region.
Meanwhile, the DAE, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and some non-government and other organisations have been distributing quality mustard seeds. The banks are disbursing agriculture loans on soft terms among the farmers to help achieve the target of mustard farming this season.
Of the national target, a total of 2,49,417 tonnes of mustard seeds will be produced from a total of 2,26,980 hectares of land in the country's 16 northern districts during the current season.
The farmers including the landless char people on the river side and in char areas have been showing more interest this season than before, after reaping repeated bumper harvest and obtaining lucrative prices for mustard in the recent years.
Additional Director of DAE's Rangpur Zone Mohsin Ali told the news agency that adequate training, technical assistance, inputs, quality seeds, the latest agri-technologies and agri-loans were being provided to the farmers for making the programme successful.
Mustard will be cultivated in 3,012 hectares in Rangpur, 7,533 in Gaibandha, 1,146 in Lalmonirhat, 1,428 in Nilphamari, 11,357 in Kurigram, 6,571 in Dinajpur, 6,084 in Thakurgaon and 379 hectares in Panchagarh districts under Rangpur Zone.
Harvest of flood tolerant paddies to increase rice production
Another report adds: Excellent harvest of the flood tolerant variety paddies after its large-scale farming and harvests in the country this season has ushered a new hope to increase rice production and food security under adverse climatic conditions.
Rice scientists and experts told the news agency that the farmers got average yields rates of all four flood tolerant varieties of Swarna Sub 1 (BRRI dhan 51), BR 11 Sub 1 (BRRI dhan 52), IR 64 sub 1 and Sambamasuri in between 4.25 to 5.60 tonnes paddy per hectare.
After repeated successes in recent years, the government went to large-scale and commercial farming of these paddies and some 27,000 farmers cultivated the same in over 2,000 hectares land in 51 Upazilas of 23 districts this season.
The farmers successfully cultivated these paddies with the assistances of the STRASA-IRRI (Stress Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa & South Asia and International Rice Research Institute) Project.
Bangladesh Country Manager of IRRI-STRASA Project Dr MA Bari said the flood- tolerant variety paddy plants sustain submergence of 10 to 17 days under floodwaters to give normal yields when traditional T-Aman plants cannot sustain longer submergence.
Farmers Ariful Islam Batul, Sirajul Islam, Ekramul Haque, Joynal Abedin and Rezaul Karim of village Najirdigar in Rangpur said they cultivated the flood tolerant variety paddies for the first time in their low-lying lands this season.
Farmers Jiten Chandra, Manik Mian, Nuruzzaman, Shyamol Chandra, Rafikul, and Mohafell of Kurigram, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Nilphamari also cultivated these paddies after getting excellent yields last year even after longer submergence.
They opined for further expansion of farming these paddies in future to have additional rice productions from the country's vast flood-prone areas and suggested for quicker dissemination of the technologies among the farmers.
Talking to the news agency Dr MA Bari said that there are some 1.2 million hectare potential flood-prone low-lying lands in the country from where an additional 6 million tonnes paddy can be produced annually by large-scale farming of these paddies.