High-yielding Bangabandhu Dhan 100 offers new hope

Bangladesh Rice Research Institute’s (BRRI) newly invented variety Bangabandhu Dhan 100 has shown promising results with a 1.5 times more yield than other varieties in Gazipur.

Bangabandhu Dhan 100 also known as BRRI Dhan 100 yielded 33 maunds of paddy per bigha. BRRI’s Rice Farming System Division confirmed this during harvest and field day ceremony in the district’s Jamalpur union of Kaliganj upazila.

According to related sources, BRRI Dhan 89 and 92 have also yielded similar results.

BRRI Director General Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir said, “The newly invented varieties require less irrigation water compared to others. Farmers will get a higher yield by cultivating these varieties in the Boro season.”

He added that since the grains of these varieties are thin and long, farmers will also get good prices.

BRRI Dhan 89, 92 and 100 varieties are early yielding and less prone to diseases. Due to the above reasons the production costs of these varieties are less compared to others.

Experts believe that the low production costs along with high yields will attract more farmers to cultivate the newly invented varieties.

“In order to guarantee food for the whole population of our country it is necessary to cultivate new high-yielding varieties,” Shahjahan Kabir added.

Altaf Hossain, a recently returned expatriate said he decided to take on farming as a profession after seeing the success of the newly invented varieties.

Alam Miah, an elderly farmer of Dhanpur village in Muktarpur union, said, “I have never seen such a huge yield in all my life. The three new varieties require much less irrigation water and pesticides than others.”

Farmer Mujibur Rahman used to cultivate BRRI 28 and 29 on his five bigha land and usually got 18-20 maunds of yield per bigha.

“Not only is the production cost of this variety less but it can also be harvested within six weeks. These varieties give almost 1.5 times more yield in far less time,” Mujibur Rahman added.

In this regard, BRRI Director (Administration) Dr Abdul Latif said, “The newly developed BRRI Dhan 89, 92 and 100 has a higher yield than the earlier popular varieties BRRI 28 and 29,” urging the farmers to cultivate the new varieties.

Dr Amina Khatun, President of Bri Scientist Association, Senior Scientist Dr Khairul Kayes, ABM Jamiul Islam, Bir Jahangir Siraji and Kaliganj Upazila Agriculture Officer Farzana Taslim also spoke on the occasion of the field day programme under the chairmanship of Ibrahim, Head of Rice Farming System Department.