The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

The government has fixed a record Boro farming target this season in all the 16 northern districts of the country.

Sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) yesterday said the department has fixed a production target of 59,58,980 tonnes of Boro rice from 15,08,137 hectares for the current Rabi season against 56,78,523 tonnes from 14,40,261 hectares in the last season.

A total of 67,876 hectares more land than that of the previous season's target will be brought under Boro farming this time for recouping the losses caused by the recent flash floods in many areas of the region, sources said.

Considering the previous success and colossal damages caused to the agri-sector by the recent floods, special steps have been taken this time by DAE, BADC, BRRI and BARI to bring more land under Boro farming including cultivation of hybrid varieties of Boro paddy at larger scales aiming to increase the production further.

Talking to BSS, Deputy Director of DAE, Rangpur, Kamal Shariful Alam said special emphasis has been put in using the latest technologies and quality hybrid seeds this time to help the farmers achieve the target and bumper Boro yield during the current season.

"Hybrid varieties of Boro paddy like Jagoron, Hira, Sonar Bangla, Aftab, LC-50, ACI-1 and ACI-2, Aloron, Supreme Seed etc will be cultivated in 50,000 hectares land out of a total of 1,17,140 hectares targeted land this season in Rangpur alone and these hybrid varieties were cultivated in only 32,000 hectares land last time," he added.

Similarly, massive initiative has been taken for farming of hybrid variety Boro paddy on more and more land in all other districts of the region to increase the overall rice production this year, he said.

DAE experts said the farmers could achieve more yield this year as special awareness building and training activities are being conducted for them on the latest agro-technologies and provided with all possible facilities by different agricultural organisations of the government.

The government has been distributing quality Boro seeds, fertilisers and other agri-inputs among the small and marginal flood-hit farmers and the authorities concerned and the Armed Forces are closely monitoring the overall fertiliser, diesel and power supply situation for smooth farming of Boro crop this season, officials said.

There are tremendous potentialities of increasing the overall rice production by up to 50 percent than that of the previous annual productions through ensuring supply of quality hybrid variety seeds to the farmers during both T-Aman and Boro farming seasons, they further added.