New rice varieties
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
THE Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has received accolades from home and abroad for evolving a good number of high yielding rice varieties since its establishment in 1970. It will soon release submergence-resistant and salt-tolerant rice varieties. This is, no doubt, a piece of news to be welcomed by millions of farmers across the country. This is because flash floods, particularly in the country's hilly areas, cause substantial damage to standing crops every year. Furthermore, a large swathe of land in its coastal districts remains fallow there because of the presence of salt in soil content.
The BRRI, in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), neighbouring India and the United States, has been trying to develop high yielding rice varieties that are capable of withstanding flood submergence, salt stress, cold and drought. According to a report published in this daily last Monday, the submergence-resistant variety developed by the BRRI can survive up to 17 days under water and are most suitable for areas generally hit by flash floods. A vast tract of land in the districts of Chittagong, Sylhet, and Mymensingh remains vulnerable to flash floods. The high- yielding rice variety that can withstand submergence for more than two weeks would, thus, prove to be a boon for the farmers in these districts. Similarly, the level of rice production in the coastal districts has been inadequate because of the presence of salt in soil. Farmers in some areas of these districts use some local salt-tolerant local varieties but the per-acre yield has been very poor. A high-yielding yet salt-tolerant variety, if made available to the farmers, is expected to revolutionise farming and economy of the impoverished coastal districts.
The need for raising yields of cereals through the application of improved farm practices is being felt now more than before, as the prices of cereals have skyrocketed in the global market. There is no denying that the per-acre yield in Bangladesh has gone up because of the use of high-yielding varieties and use of fertilisers and pesticides. But it is still well below the production level achieved in China and other Southeast Asian countries. The main reason for the rice production remaining well below the potentials in Bangladesh has been the unscientific farm practices. The farmers, in the absence of proper guidance, apply either excessive or inadequate amount of fertilisers, mainly urea, to soil though the Soil Resource Development Institute, formerly Soil Survey Department, has prepared a 'soil chart' covering every upazilla of the country. The chart has area-specific details of soil and the fertiliser requirements. But the agricultural extension directorate has failed to make proper use of the chart to ensure better farm output.
Most countries have switched over to hybrid or genetically modified (GM) crops with a view to boosting production, notwithstanding the risk involved in it. In Bangladesh, GM rice production is becoming popular, despite concerns expressed by a section of environmentalists. When HYV rice seeds were first introduced in this country in the early sixties, there were also a lot of anxieties and concern. But after all these years, if one weighs the advantages and disadvantages of HYV seeds, one would certainly see how these tiny seeds have saved millions of people from starvation and death in this country. The issue of survival certainly comes first. But there should also be all-out efforts to minimize the ill-effects of a new farm technology, if there is any, designed to ensure higher crop yields. The BRRI should continue to play a very important role in making the latest farm technologies compatible with local conditions.
The BRRI, in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), neighbouring India and the United States, has been trying to develop high yielding rice varieties that are capable of withstanding flood submergence, salt stress, cold and drought. According to a report published in this daily last Monday, the submergence-resistant variety developed by the BRRI can survive up to 17 days under water and are most suitable for areas generally hit by flash floods. A vast tract of land in the districts of Chittagong, Sylhet, and Mymensingh remains vulnerable to flash floods. The high- yielding rice variety that can withstand submergence for more than two weeks would, thus, prove to be a boon for the farmers in these districts. Similarly, the level of rice production in the coastal districts has been inadequate because of the presence of salt in soil. Farmers in some areas of these districts use some local salt-tolerant local varieties but the per-acre yield has been very poor. A high-yielding yet salt-tolerant variety, if made available to the farmers, is expected to revolutionise farming and economy of the impoverished coastal districts.
The need for raising yields of cereals through the application of improved farm practices is being felt now more than before, as the prices of cereals have skyrocketed in the global market. There is no denying that the per-acre yield in Bangladesh has gone up because of the use of high-yielding varieties and use of fertilisers and pesticides. But it is still well below the production level achieved in China and other Southeast Asian countries. The main reason for the rice production remaining well below the potentials in Bangladesh has been the unscientific farm practices. The farmers, in the absence of proper guidance, apply either excessive or inadequate amount of fertilisers, mainly urea, to soil though the Soil Resource Development Institute, formerly Soil Survey Department, has prepared a 'soil chart' covering every upazilla of the country. The chart has area-specific details of soil and the fertiliser requirements. But the agricultural extension directorate has failed to make proper use of the chart to ensure better farm output.
Most countries have switched over to hybrid or genetically modified (GM) crops with a view to boosting production, notwithstanding the risk involved in it. In Bangladesh, GM rice production is becoming popular, despite concerns expressed by a section of environmentalists. When HYV rice seeds were first introduced in this country in the early sixties, there were also a lot of anxieties and concern. But after all these years, if one weighs the advantages and disadvantages of HYV seeds, one would certainly see how these tiny seeds have saved millions of people from starvation and death in this country. The issue of survival certainly comes first. But there should also be all-out efforts to minimize the ill-effects of a new farm technology, if there is any, designed to ensure higher crop yields. The BRRI should continue to play a very important role in making the latest farm technologies compatible with local conditions.