Farmers of Lalmonirhat are overjoyed as they received a bumper production of Aman paddy as well as a good market price this year.
Growers thanked the favourable weather conditions for Aman in this region, as farmers and their family members were seen busy harvesting in their fields.
At present, 40kgs of Aman paddy sells at Tk640-710 at local markets, whereas the production cost of the same amount is Tk420-450, farmers said.
Lalmonirhat Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials said this year Aman was cultivated on a total of 81,085 hectares, adding that the farmers produced at least 4.8 tonnes on each hectare.
The Deputy Director of Lalmonirhat DAE Abdul Mazid said growers were happy for the bumper production, and added that perfect rain at perfect time and absence of natural disasters like floods or droughts resulted in the bumper production.
Anowar Hossain, a farmer at Kashinath village, said: “I cultivated high yielding flood tolerant Aman paddy on 68 decimal of lands and I harvested 25kgs from each decimal, whereas the production was only 18kgs on the same land last year.”
“I was provided with seeds and technical support from the IRRI-STRASSA Project of the NGO RDRS to cultivate such variety this year,” he said, adding he would cultivate this variety on more lands next year.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of the RDRS Mamunur Rashid told the Dhaka Tribune that farmers cultivated their lands following scientific methods and did not use excessive fertilisers and insecticides on the crops.
“We have provided the necessary support to cultivate high yielding flood and drought tolerant Aman paddy in Lalmonirhat and other parts of the country,” said the Development Programme Manager of RDRS, Ziaul Islam.
