Boro cultivation on in full swing as growers ignore biting cold

Farmers in the northern district are passing busy time for planting Boro seedlings, ignoring the biting cold during the peak cultivation season.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers have already transplanted Boro rice seedlings on over 3,000 hectares of land as the process will get momentum soon in the region.

“The government has fixed a target of producing 22,07,132 tonnes of clean Boro rice (33,10,698 tonnes of paddy) from 5,03,550 hectares of land for the region,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Mahbubur Rahman said.

Farmers will produce 10,36,252 tonnes of hybrid variety Boro rice from 2,11,700 hectares of land, 11,67,680 tonnes of high yielding variety rice from 2,90,090 hectares and 3,200 tonnes of local variety Boro rice from 1,760 hectares of land this season in the region.

The government through the DAE and other agriculture-related organisations and institutions is extending necessary assistance and latest technologies to farmers to make the intensive Boro rice farming programme a success.

Meanwhile, farmers have already prepared Boro rice seedbeds on 26,788 hectares of land exceeding the fixed target of preparing the same on 23,090 hectares of land by 3,698 hectares or 16.02 per cent across the region till Sunday.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Power Development Board, Northern Electricity Supply Company Limited and Rural Electrification Board are ensuring smooth supply of quality seeds, fertilisers and electricity to farmers.

“Steps have been taken to motivate farmers in adopting conservation agriculture technologies like Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation method in farming Boro rice to save water and increase rice output at reduced costs,” Rahman said.

He suggested farmers to irrigate Boro rice seedbeds at nights and discharge the water in the mornings and keep their seedbeds under cover of polythene sheets to save the tender seedlings from damage if the sweeping cold wave situation deteriorates.

“After preparing seedbeds, some farmers have already started transplanting Boro rice seedlings and most of them are preparing their crop lands to transplant Boro rice seedlings” he added.

Farmer Manik Mian of village Darshona in Rangpur Sadar said he has completed preparing Boro rice seedbeds and already begun transplantation of seedlings on his five acres of land to complete the process by the first week February next.

“As per suggestion of the DAE officials, I am now taking special care of growing tender plants of Boro rice seedlings so that those were not affected by the mild cold wave currently sweeping over Rangpur region,” Manik said.

Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said transplantation of Boro rice seedlings is nearing completion in low-lying and char areas where farmers will complete harvest before the next rainy season.

“Farmers are expected to bring more land under Boro rice cultivation following substantial assistance being extended to them by the government to further increase rice production in the region this season,” he said.

Agriculturist Dr. Md. Abdul Mazid, who got the Independent Medal 2018 (food security), suggested farmers complete transplantation of Boro rice seedlings by mid-February next for getting maximum yield of the major cereal crop.