The fixed production target of Aman rice is likely to exceed in Rangpur agriculture region where harvesting of the crop continues with excellent yield rate making farmers happy.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said the government has fixed a target of producing 1,719,231 tonnes of clean Aman rice (2,578,846 tonnes of paddy) from 612,451 hectares of land for the region this season.
“Before the recent floods, farmers transplanted Aman rice seedlings on 6,14,295 hectares of land exceeding the fixed target by 1,844 hectares of land this time,” Additional Director of the DAE's Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Tauhidul Ikbal told BSS on Friday.
However, the recent deluge damaged standing Aman rice crop on 4,572 hectares of land in the region.
After damage caused by the recent flood, Aman rice plants grew superbly on the rest of 609,723 hectares of land amid excellent climatic conditions this season in the region.
“Of them, farmers had cultivated short duration varieties of Aman rice on 63,197 hectares of land which is 10.36 percent against the total cultivated land area of 6,09,723 hectares in the region,” he said.
Beginning from early October, farmers of the region already completed harvesting of short duration Aman rice during the seasonal lean period of ‘Aswin' and 'Kartik’ months.
“Till Thursday, farmers harvested Aman rice on 580,705 hectares of land, 95.24 percent of the total cultivated land area, producing 1,700,934 tonnes of clean rice (25,51,401 tonnes paddy) in the region,” Ikbal added.
Farmers are now getting an average yield rate of 2.93 tonnes of clean Aman rice per hectare of land at this stage of the harvesting process and expecting to achieve a bumper production of the crop exceeding the fixed production target this season.
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If the climatic condition remains favorable during the next couple of weeks, farmers are expected to complete the harvesting process smoothly and exceed the fixed production target of Aman rice in the region during the current season.
“After harvesting short duration Aman rice, farmers are sowing seeds of early variety potato, winter vegetables and other Rabi crops on the same land in full swing creating huge jobs for farm-labourers and increasing crop intensity,” Ikbal continued.
Talking to BSS, farmers Abdur Rashid, Abul Kalam Azad, Muhibul Islam and Mostafizar Rahman of different villages in Rangpur Sadar said that they are getting excellent yield rates of Aman rice this season.
Farmer Ariful Haque of Najirdigar village in Rangpur Sadar said he has completed harvest of his cultivated Aman rice on seven acres of land and got 35 mounds yield of the crop in terms of paddy per acre of land on an average this season.
“The current market price of newly harvested Aman paddy is varying between Taka 1,000 and Taka 1,100 per mound (every 40 kg),” he said.
Like other farmers, Ariful Haque said he would be able to sell his paddy to the government purchasing centers to earn more profits.
Farmer Mofizar Rahman of Taraganj upazila in Rangpur said he has also completed harvesting his cultivated Aman rice on his crop land last week and got a bumper production.
Farm-labourers Nurun Nabi, Aslam Hossain, Parul Begum and Sohagi Khatun of different villages in Gangachara upazila here said they were earning Taka 500 as wages per day on an average by harvesting Aman rice crop this season.