SYLHET, Sept 04: The flood-hit Aman farmers in Sylhet division, who had been badly affected by the recent flood, have almost completed their replanting of the Aman seedlings as the season is about to end.
Official sources said seedlings transplantation is nearing completion. About 94 per cent of the target has already been achieved. There is about week more for the transplantation, sources added.
Sources said, over 5,500 farmers were badly affected by the flood. Many Aman seedbeds were washed away, which had to be reset immediately.
The government in a bid to help the grassroots farmers arranged 412 floating seedbeds through contract growers on an emergency basis. Accordingly these were set in the four districts and seedlings were supplied by the growers to others.
An official at the divisional office of DAE said in most of the areas, farmers completed transplantation of seedlings. "Hopefully things would be completed in a week", the official added.
The farming is well as yet with a good weather for days with required rains, he added.
So far, 371,610 hectares of land have been brought under the farming against the last year's 351,048 hectares during the corresponding period.
The area includes 137,500 hectares in Sylhet, 97,033 hectares in Moulvibazar, 71,028 hectares in Habiganj and 66,110 hectares in Sunamganj.
The official said seedbed was prepared on a total of 22,648 hectares of land against the target of 21,028 hectares in the region. It is 108 per cent of the target seedbed area. T-Aman is considered the main crop of the region.
The division's target of production had been set at about one million metric tonnes of rice from the targeted area of 3,96,806 hectares. Only in some pockets the crop has already been cultivated measuring 2,930 hectares.
Of the total target area, 140,185 hectares would be in Sylhet, 101,456 hectares in Moulvibazar and 78,921 hectares in Habiganj.
Besides, 76,244 hectares of land in Sunamganj district will be brought under the farming of T-Aman paddy where 59,440 hectares of high-yielding and the rest 16,804 hectares of local varieties.