Bumper Aush paddy makes Gopalganj farmers happy

Farmers of five upazilas in the Gopalganj district are happy with the yield and price of Aush paddy.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), about 4.5 tonnes of Aush paddy have been produced per hectare on average in Gopalganj and per maund is being sold for Tk 950-1,000.

Deputy Director of Gopalganj DAE Dr Orbindu Kumar said in five upazilas of Gopalganj district, Aush paddy has been cultivated on 3,275 hectares of land this year.

Growers are getting a good Aush yield this season. High production will encourage the growers to expand the paddy cultivation next years, he added.

Local varieties of Aush rice are cultivated in this district including BRRI dhan-82, BRRI dhan-98, BRRI dhan-85, BRRI dhan-48, BRRI dhan-43, BRRI dhan-11, BRRI dhan-7.

Farmers got a yield of 4.5 tonnes per hectare from the high-yielding variety of Aush, 6.5 tonnes from the hybrid variety and 2.27 tonnes from the local variety. Accordingly, 14,737 tonnes of Aush rice have been produced in the district.

Kotalipara upazila Agriculture Officer Nitul Roy said, “The farmers of Gopalganj usually cultivate paddy during Boro season and leave the land fallow during Aush season. We have encouraged them to cultivate Aush paddy to increase the production of rice this year.”

The officer added that along with training and advice, the DAE provides the farmers with free seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.

Farmer Sanjay Biswas, 60, of Dighlia village of Kotalipara said, “We started Aush cultivation on the advice of the agriculture officers. We did not have to irrigate the fields due to favourable weather conditions.”

He added that Aush paddy requires very little fertiliser and pesticide. Along with a bumper yield, a fair price of the harvest has made them happy.