Record Aman output likely this yr
Saturday, 8 November 2008
S M Jahangir
Farmers are set to harvest a bumper 'Aman' crop this season, making a major stride toward achieving the country's overall food-grain output target for the current fiscal, sources said.
Given the overall condition of standing crops, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has forecast that the country would be able to achieve the revised target of 13 million tonnes of rice this season.
"We are totally optimistic about achieving the rice production target in the current Aman season as countrywide field-level assessments give an encouraging picture about yield," said a senior DAE official.
Even after the consequences of some flooding and pest attacks in some areas, the overall conditions of already-matured crops are good across the country, the official added.
The DAE initially set the Aman output target at 13.70 million tonnes for the current season, but later the target was lowered marginally to 13 million tonnes following floods that hit transplanted Aman crop in some areas.
According to a DAE's assessment, the flash floods damaged transplanted Aman on nearly 166,000 hectares of lands in 20 districts of the country's northern and central regions.
Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) said although farmers in some areas have started harvesting their early variety of Aman crop, the countrywide harvest will gather pace by the third week of this month.
"If the target is achieved, it will be a record output in the history of the country's Aman cropping season," said an official.
Agriculture officials, however, see the expected good harvest of Aman crop as one-step forward toward reaching the target of domestic foodgrain production for the current fiscal year. Thus, it will also help the country reduce its overall food deficit to a greater extent, they noted.
The government has fixed country's total foodgrain production target at 34 million tonnes for the 2008-09 fiscal, which also include 18 million tonnes of 'Boro', 2.2 million tonnes of 'Aus' and 0.8 million tonnes of wheat, they mentioned.
A senior MoA official said with a good harvest, the local Aman growers are expected to recoup their losses that they had sustained in the last year because of two successive floodings and the November 15 cyclone 'Sidr'.
Due to the natural calamities, the country's Aman output drastically fell to 9.7 million tonnes last year against the target of 13 million tonnes, sources said.
Such a huge shortfall in the Aman output created an adverse impact on the local market, pushing the prices of rice abnormally up, they mentioned, adding that a soaring rice prices in the global market was also responsible for that.
Considering the overall situation, both the farmers and government made extra efforts to boost the Aman production.
To achieve the target, Aman growers across the country switched over from traditional verities to high-yielding variety (HYV) crops this season, a senior agriculture official told the FE.
This year more than 75 per cent of the total Aman land has come under the cultivation of HYV crops, brightening the prospect of raising the per hectare output.
Farmers are set to harvest a bumper 'Aman' crop this season, making a major stride toward achieving the country's overall food-grain output target for the current fiscal, sources said.
Given the overall condition of standing crops, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has forecast that the country would be able to achieve the revised target of 13 million tonnes of rice this season.
"We are totally optimistic about achieving the rice production target in the current Aman season as countrywide field-level assessments give an encouraging picture about yield," said a senior DAE official.
Even after the consequences of some flooding and pest attacks in some areas, the overall conditions of already-matured crops are good across the country, the official added.
The DAE initially set the Aman output target at 13.70 million tonnes for the current season, but later the target was lowered marginally to 13 million tonnes following floods that hit transplanted Aman crop in some areas.
According to a DAE's assessment, the flash floods damaged transplanted Aman on nearly 166,000 hectares of lands in 20 districts of the country's northern and central regions.
Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) said although farmers in some areas have started harvesting their early variety of Aman crop, the countrywide harvest will gather pace by the third week of this month.
"If the target is achieved, it will be a record output in the history of the country's Aman cropping season," said an official.
Agriculture officials, however, see the expected good harvest of Aman crop as one-step forward toward reaching the target of domestic foodgrain production for the current fiscal year. Thus, it will also help the country reduce its overall food deficit to a greater extent, they noted.
The government has fixed country's total foodgrain production target at 34 million tonnes for the 2008-09 fiscal, which also include 18 million tonnes of 'Boro', 2.2 million tonnes of 'Aus' and 0.8 million tonnes of wheat, they mentioned.
A senior MoA official said with a good harvest, the local Aman growers are expected to recoup their losses that they had sustained in the last year because of two successive floodings and the November 15 cyclone 'Sidr'.
Due to the natural calamities, the country's Aman output drastically fell to 9.7 million tonnes last year against the target of 13 million tonnes, sources said.
Such a huge shortfall in the Aman output created an adverse impact on the local market, pushing the prices of rice abnormally up, they mentioned, adding that a soaring rice prices in the global market was also responsible for that.
Considering the overall situation, both the farmers and government made extra efforts to boost the Aman production.
To achieve the target, Aman growers across the country switched over from traditional verities to high-yielding variety (HYV) crops this season, a senior agriculture official told the FE.
This year more than 75 per cent of the total Aman land has come under the cultivation of HYV crops, brightening the prospect of raising the per hectare output.