Saline tolerant paddy

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This encouraging BSS news report was published in all dailies on 18th. July but unfortunately not on the front page, which it deserved! This is a very important development for Bangladesh, given the ever increasing encroachment of saline waters in our rivers and shores which is decreasing the land available for paddy plantation. It is a great achievement for the BRRI scientists too. In the decades to come it will help increase paddy cultivation over more acres and increase our production of paddy to feed our ever-growing population. It is a very commendable achievement and deserves national recognition.
As reported, the plantation to sowing life-cycle has been reduced by two weeks compared to BRRI-53 and 54, the fastest growing rice variety! This too will help us in increasing production during the rice season; and the possibility of an extra crop may well be realised!
Given the in-shore encroachment of saline water, these saline resistant varieties of paddy will be God's gift for us, made available by our worthy BIRRI scientists! We can now recover more such fallow saline land,and increase rice production.
Hats off to the BIRRI team, who for Bangladesh have been literally: "Afriend in need, is a fried indeed"! The nation is indebted to them; for this and many more breakthroughs in the agriculture and farming sector; the most important for our agro-based economy!

S. A. Mansoor
Dhaka