Rangpur farmers eye bumper Parija rice production

RANGPUR, July 5 (BSS): Farmers in Rangpur division are expecting bumper production of indigenous Parija rice as its plants are growing fast amid favourable climatic condition.
RDRS Bangladesh, a non-government organisation (NGO), has taken an extensive programme for cultivation of the eco-friendly, short-duration and indigenous variety Parija rice on 2,200 bigha of lands in the division this year.
"Cultivation of Parija rice requires no supplementary irrigation as its plants grow well making the best use of unused seasonal rain waters during the months of May, June and July," said Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid.
Earlier, the farmers completed transplantation of Parija rice seedling by May 31 and the plants are growing excellent now without supplementary irrigation using seasonal rainfalls in the division.
The NGO has distributed 11,250 kilogram seeds among 2,200 farmers and each of them has cultivated Parija rice on one bigha of land this year.
The farmers prepared Parija rice seedbeds in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur and Panchagarh districts and completed seedling transplantation by May last.
Under the programme, 1,500 farmers have cultivated Parija rice adopting the early Aman rice-mustard/potato-mungbean-parija cropping pattern evolved by RDRS Bangladesh while 750 others after harvesting Aman-wheat/tobacco-maize this season.
"We have been expanding Parija farming as Aus crop during the off season period between Boro and Aman cultivation to adapt with climate change impacts by keeping cereal food productions increasing," said Mr Rashid.