Transplantation of parija seedling on in Rangpur
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
RANGPUR, May 26 (BSS): The farmers of Rangpur division are transplanting the off-season indigenous parija rice seedling, as they got benefits in recent years.
Like the previous years, RDRS Bangladesh has taken an extensive programme for cultivating the eco-friendly indigenous variety parija rice on 2,200 bigha s of land in Rangpur division this season.
Earlier, the NGO distributed 11,250 kg parija seeds among 2,200 new beneficiary farmers under its core programme, Crop Intensification Project, supported by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agriculture University.
Getting the assistance, the beneficiary farmers have been preparing parija rice seedbeds in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur and Panchagarh districts since last week.
Under the programme, 1,500 farmers are cultivating parija rice, adopting the early Aman rice-mustard-potato-mung bean-parija cropping pattern evolved by RDRS Bangladesh while 750 others after harvesting Aman-wheat-tobacco-maize this season.
"We have taken an expanded programme for parija farming as Aus crop during the off season period between Boro and Aman cultivation as a part of our efforts to adapt with climate change impacts by keeping agri-production increasing," Mr Mamun said.
He said each of the beneficiary farmers is cultivating parija rice in one bigha of land using the latest technologies and they were supplied five kilograms rice seeds by RDRS Bangladesh along with necessary training and supports.
Consultant of International Rice Research Institute in Bangladesh Dr MG Neogi said parija rice cultivation requires no supplementary irrigation.
He said the crop can be harvested in only 75 days with 3.5 tonnes average yield rate per hectare after cultivation during the off season between late May and mid-August when the fields remain fallow after Boro harvest and before plantation of T-Aman seedling.
Talking to the news agency, the project beneficiary farmers Habibur Rahman, Nurul Islam, Abdus Samad, Sunil Kumar, Moksed Ali and Anil Chandra of different districts said that they have already completed transplantation of parija rice seedling.