Short-term rice harvest on in Rangpur
Thursday, 21 October 2010
RANGPUR, Oct 20 (BSS): Thousands of farm-laborers, who earlier remained jobless in Kartik even few years ago, are now harvesting the anti-monga short duration paddies in full swing everywhere in Rangpur division.
As a result, huge job opportunities have been created for the poorer section people, day and farm labourers assisting them combating the weakest ever seasonal monga at its peak hour in Rangpur region.
Large-scale farming of the short duration paddies and other ongoing massive social safety networks, the century-old curse of monga now remains far away with its no bite this season, commoners and experts said.
The farmers have already completed over 50 per cent harvest of the short duration BRRI dhan 33, BRRI dhan 39, BINA 7, BU dhan 1 and flood tolerant IR 64 paddies cultivated on one lakh hectares during this season in the division.
They are getting excellent yield rate of 4 to 5 tonnes of these paddies per hectare and ongoing OMS of rice and appearance of the newly harvested rice in the local markets brought down rice prices by up to Taka 4-5 per kg.
The harvests will continue till first week of November creating 11-lakh man-day job for 45 days when the first-phase of the Taka 7.8 billion employment generation programme (EGP) for 1,18,002 beneficiaries will get full momentum in the division.
Each of the 1,18,002 beneficiaries will work under the special EGP to earn Taka 150 per day as daily wages for five days in a week for the next two months to earn a total of Tk 6,000 per head even after the peak monga period is over, officials said.
Agri-scientist Dr MA Mazid Wednesday told the news agency that the government went for large-scale farming of these paddies using the latest technologies from this season as it was proved very effective in combating seasonal monga in recent years.
Additional Director of the DAE Mohsin Ali and Head of Agriculture of RDRS Dr MG Neogi said that the paddies are being harvested in only 100 days after sowing seeds using dry or wet Direct Seeded Rice technologies and in 115 to 118 days after transplantation.
As a result, huge job opportunities have been created for the poorer section people, day and farm labourers assisting them combating the weakest ever seasonal monga at its peak hour in Rangpur region.
Large-scale farming of the short duration paddies and other ongoing massive social safety networks, the century-old curse of monga now remains far away with its no bite this season, commoners and experts said.
The farmers have already completed over 50 per cent harvest of the short duration BRRI dhan 33, BRRI dhan 39, BINA 7, BU dhan 1 and flood tolerant IR 64 paddies cultivated on one lakh hectares during this season in the division.
They are getting excellent yield rate of 4 to 5 tonnes of these paddies per hectare and ongoing OMS of rice and appearance of the newly harvested rice in the local markets brought down rice prices by up to Taka 4-5 per kg.
The harvests will continue till first week of November creating 11-lakh man-day job for 45 days when the first-phase of the Taka 7.8 billion employment generation programme (EGP) for 1,18,002 beneficiaries will get full momentum in the division.
Each of the 1,18,002 beneficiaries will work under the special EGP to earn Taka 150 per day as daily wages for five days in a week for the next two months to earn a total of Tk 6,000 per head even after the peak monga period is over, officials said.
Agri-scientist Dr MA Mazid Wednesday told the news agency that the government went for large-scale farming of these paddies using the latest technologies from this season as it was proved very effective in combating seasonal monga in recent years.
Additional Director of the DAE Mohsin Ali and Head of Agriculture of RDRS Dr MG Neogi said that the paddies are being harvested in only 100 days after sowing seeds using dry or wet Direct Seeded Rice technologies and in 115 to 118 days after transplantation.