Seed bed prepared to produce Boro seedlings

Seedbeds are being prepared by the farmers to produce seedlings for Boro farming in all the seven upazilas of Gaibandha district.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office sources said over 1, 27,445 hectares of land would be brought under Boro paddy cultivation this year with a production target of at least 5,06,000 tonnes of rice.

To cultivate the paddy in the field, the seedbeds will be prepared on over 5973 hectares of land by sowing over 300 tonnes of quality seed of various varieties in the district this season, source said.

By this time, a number of farmers have already prepared the seedbeds on the low land.

High quality seed of Boro paddy like BRRI Dhan-28 BRRI Dhan-29, BRRI Dhan- 50 and BRRI Dhan-58 BRRI Dhan 89, BRRIDhan 91 and hybrid varieties are being distributed to the farmers at reasonable rates through BADC and other private firms approved by Seed Certification Agency of the government.

Besides, many of the farmers have taken preparations to make seedbeds by sowing their own seed not depending on BADC and local markets as they received training on seed preservation from the field level officials, said Showkat Osman, district training officer of the DAE.

The DAE officials advised the farmers not to buy fake and substandard seed from the shops except BADC and government approved dealers, sources said.