Thousands of farmers in Jhenaidah will be benefited as the government has sanctioned seed preservation drums for them. It will ensure preservation of the paddy seeds in good environment as well as to save the money of the farmers as it will increase the rate of germination of the paddy seeds.
The drums are supplied to the farmers under the programme “Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition Entrepreneurship and Resilience in Bangladesh (PARTNER) project. World Bank (WB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have been providing assistance for the project, said the officials of the department of agricultural extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah.
When contacted, Famer Rahim Badsha of village Halidhani in Jhenaidah sadar upazila said, they were incurring losses preserving seeds in traditional earthen pots or bamboo made chatai for decades together. The plastic made drums will save the seeds from misuse and damage and save their cost for the seeds round the year.
Upazila agricultural officer (UAO) in Jhenaidah sadar upazila Nur E Nabi when contacted said not only the paddy, the farmers will use the d rums for cluster demonstration of rice, wheat, sunflower, mustard and mungbean. Each 120kg capacity drums will be distributed among 10 farmers for two acres of land that will keep the seeds viable and having more germination capacity.
UAO Nur-ENabi said, usually about 20 percent of the seeds are misused or damaged when it is preserved with manual method in earthen and other pots anyway. But the drums will save every grain of the seeds and ensure almost cent precent germination round the years.
It will require least quantity of seeds and save farmers’ money for seed purposes. He urged the farmers to utilize the drums for their socio-economic interest and more yield across the country.