Bumper Aman rice output, highest yield rate likely in Rangpur

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and farmers are expecting a bumper output of Aman rice.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and farmers are expecting a bumper output of Aman rice with highest yield rate in the last ten years this season in Rangpur agriculture region.
"We are getting the highest yield rate of Aman rice in terms of clean grains despite less rainfall in the region," Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Mohammad Shah Alam told BSS today.
Despite the global crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine War, a bumper production of Aman rice is expected in the region that produces huge surplus rice ensuring national food security.
While visiting Aman rice fields in remote Binbinar Char of Gangachara upazila here today, Alam said tender Aman rice plants got ample sunlight to grow superbly despite less rainfall resulting in excellent output of the crop.
"Besides, recent rainfall during super cyclone 'Sitrang' worked as a tonic for growing Aman rice plants helping to grow superbly," he said, adding that farmers are expecting to get a bumper production of the crop.
Farmers are now getting 4.50 to 6.50 tonnes of Aman rice in terms of paddy per hectare of land from harvesting short duration early varieties of the crop as harvest of its other varieties will get momentum within the next couple of weeks.
"Many farm-laborers are earning well from harvesting short duration Aman rice and sowing seeds of early varieties of winter crops on the same land to lead a better life during the 'seasonal lean period' of 'Aswin' and 'Kartik' months," Alam said.
The government has fixed a target of producing 18,07,916 tonnes of Aman rice in terms of clean grains (27,11,874 tonnes of paddy) from 6,15,685 hectares of land for all five districts of Rangpur agriculture region this season.
Braving a drought-like situation, enthusiastic farmers have cultivated Aman rice on 6,15,981 hectares of land exceeding the fixed farming target by 296 hectares of land.
"Of them, short duration varieties of Aman rice have been cultivated on over 94,000 hectares of land this season," Alam said.
Till Sunday, farmers harvested short duration Aman rice on 60,850 hectares of land and got an excellent average yield rate of 2.98 tonnes of clean Aman rice grains (4.47 tonnes of paddy) per hectare of land. farmer Ariful Haque Batul of village Najirdigar in Rangpur said sharecroppers have cultivated varieties of Aman rice like BRRI dhan75, BRRI dhan51, BRRI dhan52 and BINA dhan17 on his 7.50 acres of land this season.
"Harvesting of the crop has already begun. We are expecting high yield rates of the crop between 45 and 55 mounds (every 40-kg is one mound) per acre of land this time," he added.
Farmers Nurul Islam, Azmal Hossain, Anisul Haque and Akram Hossain of different villages in Sadar, Gangachara and Pirganj upazilas of Rangpur said that they are getting excellent yield rates from their just harvested Aman rice crop.
They expressed happiness over the current excellent market price of newly harvested Aman paddy between Taka 1,100 and 1,200 per mound.
Deputy Director (Leave Reserved) of the DAE at Khamarbari in Dhaka Abu Sayem said farmers are hopeful to achieve a bumper Aman rice output with excellent yield rates despite less rainfall this season in Rangpur region.