The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Barisal

The farmers of 11 southern districts under Barisal Agriculture Extension Zone (BAEZ) have been harvesting Aus paddy with smiles in their faces as the yield of the paddy is expected to be higher this season.

A total of 3,39,856 hectares of land have been brought under the crop cultivation in the districts this season while more than 20,172 hectares of land brought under paddy production, officials said. Of the total, 6,299 hectares were brought under hybrid variety of Aus, 1,53,299 hectares under Upashi variety and 1,80,258 hectares under local variety, the officials said. The production target was fixed at 14,17,233 metric tonnes of clean paddy. Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) distributed as much as 1.35 crore kgs of high yielding variety of seeds among the farmers of the region for boosting production. The farmers were more enthusiastic for increased aus cultivation this year as they had been getting fertilisers, seeds and other inputs at retail prices due to monitoring by the joint forces.

Meanwhile, DAE has taken a programme to set up demonstration plots in the zone areas for teaching farmers the scientific method of Aus cultivation.

Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) along with other commercial banks disbursed necessary loans among the small and marginal farmers.