Short duration rice harvest creates jobs for labourers

Farmers are continuing harvest of short duration Aman rice creating huge jobs for farm labourers during the seasonal lean period of Aswin and Kartik months in Rangpur agriculture region.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said early harvest of short duration Aman rice began a month ago and the process will continue during the whole lean period till November.

Expanded cultivation of short duration Aman rice has effectively combated monga, a seasonal extreme poverty like situation during the lean period, in the last 13 consecutive years, even during the Covid-19 pandemic situation.

Independence Award 2018 Medal (food security) winner Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid said expanded cultivation of short duration Aman rice began from 2009 to create jobs for farm-labourers through early harvest of the crop during the lean period.

Early harvest of short duration Aman rice followed by cultivation of subsequent winter crops on the same land creates huge jobs for farm-labourers during the lean period since 2010 successfully relieving them from the cycle of seasonal poverty.

“Previously, an extreme poverty-like situation, locally called ‘monga’, was being created for lack of agricultural activities during the months of ‘Aswin’ and ‘Kartik’ causing untold miseries to the poor and farm-labourers,” Dr Mazid added.

Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Mahbubur Rahman said farmers have cultivated Aman rice on 6, 12,330 hectares of land in the region this season.

“Of them, farmers have cultivated short duration varieties of Aman rice on 63,197 hectares of land which is 10.32 percent against the total cultivated land area,” he said.

Meanwhile, farmers have already harvested short duration Aman rice on 29,195 hectares of land producing 90,049 tonnes of clean Aman rice (1,35,074 tonnes of paddy) in all five districts of Rangpur agriculture region till Sunday in the region.

“Currently, farmers are getting an average yield rate of 3.08 tonnes of clean Aman rice (4.62 tonnes of paddy) per hectare of land,” Rahman said.

Talking to BSS, farmers Azizar Rahman and Narayan Chandra Sen of village Bhimpur in Alampur union of Taraganj upazila in Rangpur said they have already harvested short duration varieties of BINA dhan17 Aman rice last month.

Model farmer Rabindra Nath of village Bachhurbandha in Ekorchali union of the same upazila said he has already cultivated early varieties of winter vegetables after harvesting BINA dhan17 variety of short duration Aman rice on the same land.

Farmer Birendra Nath of the same village said he harvested BINA dhan16 and BINA dhan17 varieties of short duration Aman rice on last October 10 and already cultivated winter vegetables on the same land.

Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said expanded cultivation of short duration Aman rice followed by its early harvest has lastingly eliminated monga creating huge jobs during the lean period.

“Farmers are cultivating early varieties of potato, Vitamin-A enriched sweet potato, winter vegetables, mungbean, maize, mustard and other crops on the same land now after harvesting short duration Aman rice to increase crop intensity,” he added.

Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Tauhidul Iqbal said farmers reap more profits and tackle the lean period by farming short duration Aman rice followed by cultivation of early varieties of winter crops on the same land.