Short duration Aman paddy harvest creates job for marginal farmers

RANGPUR, Oct 03 (BSS): Early harvest of short duration Aman rice has already begun creating jobs for farm-labourers and helping them in tackling the 'seasonal lean period' of 'Aswin' and 'Kartik' months in Rangpur agriculture region.
Like previous years, short duration Aman rice harvest is now helping small and marginal farmers and farm-labourers in tackling the 'seasonal lean period' that has already disappeared from the region 13 years back.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said expanded cultivation of short duration Aman rice was launched in 2009 aiming at creating jobs for farm-labourers through early harvest of the crop during the seasonal lean period.
"Early harvest of short duration Aman paddy creates jobs for farm-labourers during the 'seasonal lean periods' since 2010 relieving them from poverty," said Agriculturist Mohammad Shah Alam, Additional Director of the DAE, Rangpur region.
Earlier, a poverty-like situation was being created for lack of agricultural activities during the months of 'Aswin' and 'Kartik' causing untold miseries to the poor and farm-labourers even 14 years ago.
The DAE has fixed a target of producing 18,07,916 tonnes of clean Aman rice (27,11,874 tonnes of paddy) from 6,15,685 hectares of land for all five districts of the region this season.
Farmers have cultivated Aman paddy on 6,15,981 hectares of land exceeding the fixed farming target by 296 hectares of land.
"Of them, farmers have cultivated short duration varieties of Aman paddy on over 62,000 hectares of land across the region this season," he said.