Farmers in Sylhet region started Boro farming in many areas of all the four districts. Many of them alleged that due to lack of irrigation facilities a good tracts of land would remain fallow while others have prepared their lands for the transplantation.
Some farmers had already transplanted their lands. As there is water in the large haors, farmers are already engaged in seedbed preparation in some areas. But they are in trouble with the rise in the prices of seed, water, labourers and other inputs this year.
Farmer Monir Uddin of the Bagha area in Golapganj in Sylhet said they are in trouble with the rise in labour cost for land preparation and other purposes.
But there is no other option, he claimed. Lack of irrigation facilities would hit the Boro farming, he said.
Deputy Director at the DAE Sylhet Divisional office Md. Khoyer Uddin Molla told this correspondent that the season's target had been set at 478,000 hectares including 424 haor areas under four districts of the division for Boro farming while over 11 per cent of it had been cultivated.
However, farming is being delayed due to late recession of water from low lands. Besides, lack of irrigation facilities is still a problem for Boro farming in the region.
But in Sunamganj the scene is different. Nur Mia of village Hasnabad in Shantiganj said water receded from many haors and it was faster this time, this is why the lands are already dried up, causing much hardship for the farmers.
DAE Deputy Director, Sunamganj Bimol Chandra Shome, said we think there would be no problem in achieving the district's farming target of 222,000 hectares. Already transplantation on 24,000 hectares had been done.
BSS reports from Rangpur: Braving a drought-like situation and global crises, farmers have produced an all-time record 18,63,499 tonnes of clean Aman paddy in Rangpur agriculture region this season.
Alongside getting a robust production of the major cereal crop, farmers are happy having fair prices of coarse varieties of Aman paddy between Taka 1,150 and Taka 1,200 per maund (every 40 kgs) in the local markets.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) officials said harvest of Aman rice on the total cultivated land area of 6,15,981 hectares was completed last month.
Farmers have produced 18,63,499 tonnes of clean Aman rice (27,95,248 tonnes of paddy) exceeding the production target of 18,07,916 tonnes by 55,583 tonnes or 3.07 per cent.
"Farmers have achieved the highest average yield rate of clean Aman rice grains this time in the last ten years," Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Mohammad Shah Alam told the news agency.
Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing 18,07,916 tonnes of clean Aman rice (27,11,874 tonnes of paddy) from 6,15,685 hectares of land in all five districts of Rangpur agriculture region this season.
Despite a drought-like situation due to less rainfall, enthusiastic farmers had cultivated Aman rice on 6,15,994 hectares of land, exceeding the fixed farming target by 309 hectares this season.
Besides, natural calamities damaged standing Aman rice crop on 13 hectares of land while tender plants on the remaining 6,15,981 hectares of land grew superbly following supplementary irrigation and subsequent rainfalls resulting in excellent yield.
"Farmers have achieved a bumper production of Aman rice despite a drought-like situation during the farming period, and global crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine War," Alam said.
Rainfall during super cyclone 'Sitrang' worked as a energizer for Aman rice plants helping in growing superbly along with combating pests attacks.
"Farmers have finally got a record average yield rate of 3.03 tonnes of clean Aman rice grains per hectare of land in the region that generally produces a huge surplus of rice every year contributing to ensuring national food security," Alam added.
Meanwhile, farmers completed harvest of short duration Aman rice on 94,000 hectares of land during the seasonal lean period of 'Aswin' and 'Kartik' months creating huge jobs for farm-labourers.
"After harvesting Aman rice, farmers are continuing to sow seeds of potato, winter vegetables and other Rabi crops on the same land," Alam said.
Talking to the news agency, farmers Manik, Mian, Hossain Ali, Nurul Islam, Mohsin Ali, Abul Hossain and Harun Ur Rashid of different villages in Rangpur said that they have got excellent yield of Aman rice after completing harvest last month.
Farmer Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman of village Najirerhat in Rangpur Sadar said he got 55 and 65 maunds coarse Aman rice from per acre of land this season.
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