The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rajshahi

The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing 66.61 lakh metric tons of Boro rice from 15.69 lakh hectares in the country's 16 northern districts during the current season.

According to the official sources, a target has also been set to cultivate hybrid varieties on 5.17 lakh hectares, high yielding varieties on 10.44 lakh hectares and local varieties on 8825 hectares.

Meanwhile, farmers have already started planting early variety of Boro seedlings, dedicating their full efforts in achieving a record production target.

Preparation of Boro seedbeds for the late varieties, however, is still on and the farmers are planting Boro seedlings and also making their lands ready for further plantation after harvesting the T-Aman paddy.

Last year, the farmers achieved a bumper Boro production when the DAE had fixed a production target of 59,58,980 tonnes rice from 15,08,137 hectares land, they added.

Deputy director of DAE of Rajshahi, Braja Hari Das told BSS that special emphasis has been given to using the latest technology and hybrid seeds this time to help the farmers achieve the target and even exceed it.

He said that top priority was given to cultivation of Boro to achieve self-sufficiency in the region.

Increased yield of Boro is expected this year because of the training being provided to the farmers on the latest technologies along with all possible facilities including fertilizers and other agri-inputs, DAE sources said.

The farmers may bring more land under Boro farming this season as they have been getting bumper production of the major crop every year in recent years, the sources said.

Special steps have been taken by the DAE, BADC, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA), BRRI and BARI to bring more land under Boro farming including cultivation of hybrid varieties at larger scales aiming to increase the production further for ensuring the country's food security.

Talking to BSS, the DAE officials today said that special emphasis has been put in using the latest technologies and quality hybrid seeds this time to help the farmers achieve the fixed production target this season.

BADC and BMDA distributed 8,416 metric tons of quality seeds among the farmers in the region to ensure expected production.

Similarly, cultivation of hybrid varieties of Boro paddy like ACI-1 and ACI-2, Sonar Bangla, Jagoron, LC-50, Hira, Supreme Seed, Aftab and Aloron etc has been gaining popularity among the farmers and its cultivation will be more this season to further increasing Boro rice production, they added.

Similarly, massive initiative has been taken for farming of hybrid variety Boro paddy on more and more land in all 16 districts of the region to increase the overall rice production during this season.

Officials said the farmers could achieve more yield this year as special awareness building and training activities are being conducted for them on the latest technologies and provided with all possible facilities including fuels and irrigation.

There are tremendous potentials of increasing the overall rice production than that of the previous annual output through ensuring supply of hybrid seeds to the farmers during the Boro farming season, they added.

Meanwhile, the farmers have almost completed planting of Boro seedlings in the low-lying beds of the dried-up water bodies, beels, haors and other places keeping in view harvesting the same before commencement of the next rainy season, farmers said.

BMDA has kept over 10,000 power-operated deep tubewells ready in addition to the farmers' level diesel-driven pumps for irrigating lands for achieving a bumper production of Boro paddy, in the region, BMDA sources said.

Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has been disbursing crop loans among the farmers to make the Boro cultivation process a complete success, the RAKUB sources said.