Aman paddy yield makes Rajshahi farmers happy

Farmers are happy with getting a satisfactory yield of the newly-harvested transplanted Aman (T-Aman) paddy in the Rajshahi region, including its vast Barind tract.
 
Harvesting of transplanted Aman paddy is going on in full swing everywhere in the region at present, while a good yield of the paddy is making the farmers happy.

Early this month, untimely heavy rainfall caused some damage to crops that were nearing maturity, particularly in the Naogaon and Rajshahi districts, where some fields became waterlogged.

However, overall, farmers are reportedly happy with the yield, which has been attributed to suitable climate conditions during the growing season and the adoption of high-yielding, modern rice varieties.

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have been promoting modern, short-duration varieties, which have helped ensure food security and provide employment opportunities during the period.

This is the right time for harvesting; farmers are now passing the busiest time of completing it in time to plant the next crop on the same land.
 
The paddy harvest has not only generated scopes of ensuring food security but also created job opportunities for many people, particularly the marginalised and daily-earning people.

 DAE officials said suitable climate conditions, along with frequent rainfall during the farming season, raised the hope of getting the desired production of T-Aman paddy.
 
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has set a target of producing more than 28.04 lakh metric tons of transplanted aman rice from 7.96 lakh hectares of land in all eight districts under the Rajshahi division this season.
 
Nazmul Hossain (47), a farmer of Gohomabona village under Paba upazila, said he has got around six tonnes of yield of BRRI Dhan-75 variety per hectare of land this season.
 
Another farmer, Jahangir Alam of Bhujail village under Nachole upazila, has achieved a yield of 5.5 to 6 tonnes of BRRI Dhan-51 per hectare on average.
 
"We are ready to harvest the golden grain crop as it will start within the next couple of weeks in full swing," said Abdus Samad, a farmer of Rajabari village in Godagari upazila. 
 
He has cultivated the paddy on five bighas of land and hopes for a good yield, though some of its farming fields were damaged.
 
He also said many of the farmers have already started harvesting the advanced varieties of T-Aman paddy, and they are getting good yields.
 
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has released seven modern varieties of the Aman paddy for the welfare of common farmers in the region, particularly in its vast Barind tract, said Dr Mohammad Hossain, chief scientific officer of BRRI.
 
The varieties like Brridhan 51, Brridhan 56, Brridhan 66, Brridhan 71, Brridhan 75, Brridhan 80, Brridhan 87 and Brridhan 90 are comparatively high-yielding, drought-tolerant and take a shorter time to get mature than the of local variety.
 
Dr Hossain said farmers have been encouraged to cultivate the latest varieties through various interventions, including block demonstration, plot projection and the supply of seed free of cost.
 
He also said the modern varieties have opened up doors for enormous prospects of food security, along with mitigating the crisis of irrigation water. Timely transplantation of Aman paddy seedlings is very important for healthy growth, leading to optimum yield in the area.
 
Dr Mohammad Hossain also mentioned that Parija and Swarna varieties are being replaced by some of the developed varieties that can boost the Aman output.