Home ›› 25 Oct 2021 ›› Nation
Bina Dhan-17, a high-yielding variety of rice developed by the scientists of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, has turned out to be a prospective change maker to the socio-economic condition and food security status in Mymensingh.
More and more farmers in the region are opting to cultivate this rice variety now as it provides them with an opportunity to cultivate a third crop (an additional crop) in a year on the same cropland, which will benefit both the farmers and farm labourers.
Ideal for the soil and climate of the region, Bina Dhan-17 is least affected by natural calamities like floods, drought and pest attacks, said Dr Mirza Mofazzal Islam, director general of BINA, and inventor of the high yielding variety.
Bina Dhan-17 matures in less than four months, 110 to 115 days to be exact, and thus can be harvested one month ahead of the customary Aman crop of the high-yielding variety group (which takes 160 to 170 days to mature) allowing cultivation of different winter crops either.
According to the farmers, Bina Dhan-17 yield at least 33 per cent more than that of other varieties of Aman paddy, and the production cost is around one-third lower. A relatively thinner paddy, Bina Dhan-17, is also eco-friendly because it requires 30 to 40 per cent less water and fertilizer.
The cultivation of Binadhan-10 and other varieties of Aman paddy starts in July every year. But as they are harvested in November, the cultivation of other winter crops like potatoes, mustard start late, and their yields become limited.
Bina Dhan-17 cultivation also starts in July, but its harvesting and threshing are completed by October, allowing winter crops, such as mustard, to be planted one month earlier, much to the delight of farmers, said Helal Uddin, a farmer of Borogram union of Muktagacha upazila under the district.
Helal told The Business Post that along with Aman on two acres of cropland, he cultivated this rice variety on his three-decimal cropland; the paddy grows by 115cm to 120cm that brings the farmers straw more in amount which is also profitable for the farmers.
The rice derived from this paddy is also nutritious because it has 24.6 per cent amylose, which boosts immunity, digestion and alleviates heart and diabetes-related complications, said AKM Azizul Haque, an agriculturist in the upazila.
“I have cultivated this rice variety on 52 decimal of cropland. It is a great invention of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), and I am able to cultivate three to four varieties of crops, such as Aman, Boro, Bina Dhan-17 and mustard on my land now,” he pointed out.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of Mymensingh, if farmers opt for this high yielding rice variety, they can cultivate three to four crops in the same cropland, generating more income and alleviating poverty in the district.
