Aush rice cultivation in Rangpur region has been expanded for six consecutive years as a result of the government steps including special intensives and technical support to farmers along with motivational campaign.
According to the officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Aush paddy which is grown with less water and in shorter period of time than other varieties is expanding constantly in the region over the last six years.
This year the DAE has fixed a target of bringing 54,775 heaters of land under Aush cultivation to produce over 1.54-lakh tonnes of clean rice (2.34-lakh tonnes of paddy) for all five districts of the region.
The farmers have already brought 33,621 hectares of land or 61.55 percent of the targeted larea under Aush cultivation, DAE horticulture specialist Khondker Mesbahul Islam told BSS.
Aush cultivation is going on in the region in full swing now and it will continue till the first week of June, he said with prediction of exceeding the target of cultivation this year.
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.
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Besides, farmers 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.
Apart from carrying out motivational campaign for Aush cultivation the government has given special incentives to farmers. Under the program Aush seed and fertilizer worth Taka 5.75 crore were distributed among 34,029 small and marginal farmers free of cost.
Under special incentive package, each beneficiary farmer got 5 kg high-yielding variety Aush rice seed, 15 kg diammonium phosphate (DAP) and 10 kg Murrieta of Potash (MoP) fertilizer for to cultivating Aush rice in each bigha of land.
Of them, 10,572 beneficiary farmers got special Aush rice incentives in Rangpur, 6,692 farmers in Gaibandha, 6,479 farmers in Kurigram, 6,786 farmers in Lalmonirhat and 3,500 farmers in Nilphamari, Mesbahul Islam.
Talking to BSS, beneficiaries of the incentive program Enamul Haque of village Mandalpara and Abdur Rouf of village Biswanathpur in Mithapukur upazila said each of them already cultivated Aush paddy on one bigha of land with the special incentives.
Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid, a recipient of the Independence Award in food security, highly appreciated the government initiatives to promote less irrigation water consuming Aush rice cultivation to produce additional rice.
Regional Additional Director of the DAE Mohammad Ali said such initiatives is contributing to enhance Aush rice cultivation using unused rainwater during the off-season between Boro rice harvest and T-Aman rice farming to increase rice output for food security.
(BSS)
