The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

After attaining huge success in combating Monga through expanded farming of short duration BRRI Dhan-33, experts of Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS), have now been cultivating another short-duration variety of paddy BINA Dhan-7 for the same purpose in greater Rangpur.

Invented in 2007 by Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and approved for expanded field level farming by the National Seed Board, RDRS cultivated BINA Dhan-7 after long research works last year with huge success in the area.

Agriculture Coordinator of RDRS MG Neogi told BSS today that the new short duration BINA Dhan-7 could be harvested within only 115 days from the date of transplantation of the seedlings and within 100 days of sowing seeds using dry and wet methods of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR).

During the last Boro season, RDRS produced six tonnes per hectare while cultivating BINA Dhan-7 at its farm in Rangpur and now cultivating the paddy during this T-Aman season using three tonnes of the produced paddy as seeds involving local farmers, he added.

"We have prepared seed beds of BINA Dhan-7 on the land on December 5 last year and transplanted the 29-day old seedlings on January 3 last at our Rangpur farm during the last Boro season and got excellent yield of six tonnes paddy per hectare and the paddy is now being used as seeds," Neogi said.

"Each of the 75-cm high paddy clusters had 24 plants on an average and every plant had 174 pieces of paddy on an average and we are expecting an average yield of five tonnes BINA Dhan-7 during the current T-Aman season," the RDRS expert said.

Colour of BINA Dhan-7 is very attractive, its rice is comparatively bigger in length and fine that makes its market price higher than most of the other variety rice.

Neogi said, during their research on the paddy at field levels last year, it was found that the growing plants of BINA Dhan-7 are more resistant against various diseases like 'Khol Poncha', 'Pata Pora', stem rotting and other diseases.

While visiting RDRS farm here on May 10 last, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Director General of the Seed Wing M Anwar Faruque expressed his satisfaction after observing the BINA Dhan-7 farming and hoped that the variety would soon be popular in the country, Neogi added.

He said that expanded cultivation of short duration BINA Dhan-7 side by side with BRRI Dhan-33 at field levels would definitely usher in a new era for Monga mitigation in near future and its cultivation goes in full swing now this season in greater Rangpur.

"Since the beginning of our research on Monga mitigation through farm activities, we found in 1999 that there is a close relation between harvesting period of Transplanted Aman paddy and the century old seasonal job crisis of the farm labourers, locally known as Monga," RDRS officials said.

The research revealed that the farm-labourers get adequate jobs as per the traditional crop diversification during T-Aman paddy farming process, harvesting of which begins from late November for decades.

As a result, the poorer section of people and farm labourers fall prey to seasonal Monga every year for no work in the fields during the months of September and October when the traditionally planted Aman paddy starts blooming.

After suffering from abject poverty for two months every year, the poor people day-and farm labourers again get jobs when harvesting of the Aman paddy begins from late November to earn their livelihoods again.

Considering these factors, we started working for advancing harvesting period of Aman paddy to September from the traditional period of November to create job opportunities for the farm labourers in earning livelihoods and save them from Monga, Neogi added.