The government has set production target for Transplanted Aman (T-Aman) at 1.28bn tonnes for this year, more than 400,000 tonnes from last year’s.
In total 5.22m hectares of land will be cultivated to reach the target as 22,000 hectares less land will be used for cultivation from last season’s.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), up until Sunday farmers had already covered 90% of the target acreage.
“In spite of targeting less land, we hope to achieve the target as farmers are relying on hybrid and High Yielding Varieties (HYV),” said Md Rafiqul Hasan, deputy director of DAE.
He said that he hopes the sowing of saplings will be completed by the end of the second week of September.
T-Aman is the second highest cereal crop produced in Bangladesh after Boro. It is usually grown during the rainy season between July and September.
This year there has been adequate rainfall and good weather favourable for Aman cultivation, said the deputy director.
If there is sufficient rain throughout the period, farmers may have a bumper harvest.
Farmers said they are hoping for a good production year. Abdur Razzaq, a farmer from Dinajpur said: “As rainfall and fertiliser supply has been on time this year, I transplanted eight acres of Aman.”
According to the DAE, Dinajpur district is the highest producer of Aman, cultivating 24,000 hectares. While in Noagaon 200,000 hectares, in Rangpur 154,000 hectares, in Bogra 185,000 hectares and in Jamalpur 192,000 hectares have been targeted for T-Aman respectively.
