Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and farmers are expecting a bumper output of Transplanted Aman (T-Aman) rice crop as its tender plants are growing excellent in Rangpur region. The DAE officials said favorable weather conditions including frequent rainfalls are considered as tonic for superb growth of the tender T-Aman rice plants on vast tracts of crop lands predicting excellent production of the crop.
The farmers have finally cultivated T-Aman rice on over 6.08-lakh hectares of land, less by 4.18 percent or 26,552 hectares against the fixed farming target on over 6.35-lakh hectares of land in the region. “Despite a little shortfall in the farming target, an excellent T-Aman rice output is expected this season,” said Md. Moniruzzaman Additional Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office.
Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of bringing over 6.35-lakh hectares of land under T-Aman rice cultivation to produce over 18.08-lakh tonnes of clean rice (27.13-lakh tonnes of paddy) for the region this season. Moniruzzaman said recent flood damaged T-Aman rice crop on 43.75 hectares of land causing production loss of 126.53 tonnes of clean rice worth Taka 37- lakh and standing T-Aman rice seedling on 5,216 hectares of land causing loss of Taka 59.06 crore.
“To recoup the crop losses, the government has implemented massive agri- rehabilitation programmes spending Taka 1.42 crore to assist flood-affected farmers for making T-Aman rice farming programme successful this season,” he said.
The DAE distributed T-Aman rice seedling prepared on 202 community seedbeds spending Taka 80.90-lakh among 12,241 flood-affected farmers of Kurigram, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat free of costs for re-transplantation on their one bigha of land each.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Mohammad Ali told BSS that 12,241 flood-affected farmers of local communities got the specially prepared T-Aman rice seedling on community seedbeds.
“Of them, 6,060 flood-affected farmers of Kurigram and Gaibandha each and 121 flood-affected farmers of Lalmonirhat received the specially prepared T- Aman rice seedling on community seedbeds,” Ali said. Some 1,251 more flood-affected farmers of these three districts got T-Aman rice seedling prepared by other agriculture-related government organisations under the Ministry of Agriculture.
The DAE and other agriculture-related organisations also prepared seedbeds of late variety T-Aman rice on 20 hectares of land spending Taka 13.35-lakh and distributed those among 1,181 flood-hit farmers for re-transplantation on one bigha of land each.
In addition to this, the DAE distributed T-Aman rice seedling prepared on 280 floating seedbeds spending Taka 3.82-lakh among 70 flood-hit farmers for re-transplantation on one bigha of land each. “Despite a little shortfall in the fixed farming target, farmers have cultivated T-Aman rice on over 6.06-lakh hectares of land this year against
6.03-lakh hectares of land or higher by 2,902 hectares of land than last year,’ Ali added.
The farmers are now taking extensive care of their excellent growing tender T-Aman rice plants to make the intensive T-Aman rice farming programme successful. Talking to BSS, a number of farmers of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts in the region said their tender T-Aman rice plants were growing superbly amid favourable climatic conditions.
Farmer Ariful Haque of village Najirdigar, Manik Mian of village Darshona and Echhahaq Ali of village Kathihara in Rangpur said growing T-Aman rice plants would not require supplementary irrigation following frequent seasonal rainfalls.
They said the superbly growing tender T-Aman rice plants have created greenish blankets on vast crop fields giving an eye-catching greenish look all-around predicting a bumper production of the major cereal crop this season.
https://english.dainiksomoysangbad24.com/2019/10/01/pm-returns-home-4/
(BSS)
