Aman rice harvest gains momentum

The harvest of short duration Aman rice varieties BINA-16 and BINA-17 has gained momentum in the Rangpur region, generating employment for farm labourers during the lean period of September-October.

The harvest has also generated scopes of ensuring food security amid the pandemic situation.

Rezwanul Haque, a farmer at Vhimpur village under Targanj Upazila of the district began harvesting the crop at the beginning of October.

He had planted the variety in his one acre of land. There was no pest attack in the field.  Rezwanul hopes to complete the harvesting process by mid-October and will get at least 60 maunds of rice from his land.

“After harvesting the paddy, I will cultivate potatoes and early winter vegetables including sweet pumpkins in my land. I hope to make a hefty profit from selling the produce in the local markets,” he added.

Senior Scientific Officer of Rangpur Sub-station of BINA Agriculturist Mohammad Ali said earlier the variety BINA-7 had a significant role to eliminate the recurrent crisis in the Rangpur region during the month of September-October, when there was no work for the farm labourers.

Agriculture scientists have been working for the expansion of the newly introduced high yielding short-term variety BINA-16 and BINA-17 in the region to intensify the cropping pattern.

Dr Mirza Mofazzal Islam, Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) said, “Our target is to intensify the cropping pattern in the fields of northern region to create job generation and to increase farmers’ income round the year.”

Describing the prospects of BINA-16 and BINA-17, he added, “We have developed the varieties of paddy after extensive research.  It is a short-duration paddy and it can be harvested within 115 days. In comparison, the traditional variety needs 150-160 days.”

Farmers can prepare their seedbeds in June and can plant it during mid-July and can be harvested in October, which can help to create job generation for the farm labourers and increase buying ability of the vulnerable groups.

The farmers can also cultivate early potatoes, pulses and vegetables in the lands after harvesting the paddy, which will bring them more benefits and create additional job opportunities for the farm laborers in the region, he added.

A farmer needs about Tk 20,000 – Tk 25,000 to cultivate one acre of land. The yield will be at least 60 maunds of paddy per acre of land, and the market price of the rice is about Tk 54,000.

“We would be able to double the farmers’ income by 2030 if we manage to intensify the cropping patterns in the country,” the director general added.

Meanwhile, Director-General of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Mohammad Asadullah said, “The government has to import edible oil from foreign countries every year by spending a huge amount of foreign currency.

“If the farmers get familiar with the short-duration paddy varieties and go for farming, they will be able to cultivate pulse, mustard and Boro paddy in the same field. This move will help the country meet its demand for edible oil.”

The DAE has given the farmers training on farming the new paddy varieties, seed accumulation process, and technical assistance across the country, he added.

Ministry of Agriculture’s Senior Secretary Mejbahul Islam said a revolutionary change has been made in the country’s agricultural sector due to the crop diversification patterns policy.