BSS, Rangpur
Aush rice output continued increasing for the last nine consecutive years as a result of various steps taken by the government, like providing intensives and technical supports to the farmers of Rangpur agriculture region, reports BSS.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said cultivation of the short duration and less irrigation water consuming Aush rice crop is expanding constantly over the last nine years.
This year, the DAE had fixed a target of bringing 62,199 heaters of land under Aush rice cultivation to produce over 1.80 lakh tonnes of clean rice (2.71-lakh tonnes of paddy) for all five districts of the region.
“However, farmers finally brought 62,090 hectares of land under Aush rice farming this season in the region,” Additional Director of the DAE’s Rangpur region Bidhu Bhusan Ray told BSS.
Braving the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers have produced an all-time record 1.94 lakh tonnes of clean Aush rice (2.91 lakh tonnes of paddy) at an excellent average yield rate of 3.13 tonnes per hectare of land this year.
The production of 1.94 lakh tonnes of clean Aush rice is higher by 7.78 percent against the fixed production target of 1.80 lakh tonnes of the same for this season.
“Various realistic steps of the government, including motivational campaigns, inspired farmers in expanding cultivation of Aush rice resulting in achieving its all-time record output this time,” Ray said.
Official statistics said farmers produced 51,722 tonnes of Aush rice from 17,523 hectares of land in 2013 while 59,685 tonnes of rice from 19,205 hectares in 2014 and 61,676 tonnes of Aush rice from 21,063 hectares of land in 2015 in the region.
They produced 65,505 tonnes of Aush rice from 21,751 hectares of land in 2016 while 73,543 tonnes of Aush rice from 24,717 hectares in 2017 and 1.23 lakh tonnes of Aush rice from 40, 618 hectares of land in 2018.
“Farmers produced 1.48 lakh tonnes of clean Aush rice from 47,552 hectares of land in 2019 and produced a previous record quantity of 1.83 lakh tonnes of clean Aush rice from 59,092 hectares of land in 2020 in the region,” Ray added.
Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid, a recipient of the Independence Award-2018 in the food security category, highly appreciated the government initiatives to promote less irrigation water consuming Aush rice cultivation to produce additional rice.
Farmers are expanding Aush rice cultivation as an additional crop during the off-season after Boro rice harvest and before transplantation of Aman rice seedlings on the same land to enhance rice production every year.
“Production of Aush rice continues increasing consistently during the last nine consecutive years in Rangpur region, largely contributing to ensuring national food security amid adverse impacts of climate change,” Dr Mazid said.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said farmers are cultivating Aush rice using unused rainwater during the off-season between Boro rice harvest and Aman rice farming when the croplands remain fallow.
“Farmers are easily cultivating Aman rice on the same land after harvesting Aush rice to increase rice production amid changing climate for attaining sustainable national food security,” Rashid added.