Successfully facing a drought-like situation and global crises, farmers have already exceeded the fixed production target of Aman rice as its harvest is nearing completion in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers have already completed Aman rice harvest on 6,05,799 hectares of land out of 6,15,981 hectares remaining after damages caused by natural calamities.
Till Sunday, farmers have produced 18,17,282 tonnes of clean Aman rice (27,25,923 tonnes of paddy) exceeding the fixed production target of 18,07,916 tonnes of clean rice by 9,366 tonnes.
"Farmers are happy with 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 BSS.
Earlier, the government had fixed a target of producing 18,07,916 tonnes of clean Aman rice grains (27,11,874 tonnes of paddy) from 6,15,685 hectares of land for 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.
Aman rice output has not been hampered despite a drought-like situation during the farming period, global crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine War and rainfall during super cyclone 'Sitrang'.
Rather, rainfall during super cyclone 'Sitrang' worked as a tonic for Aman rice plants helping to grow superbly alongside combating pests attacks.
"Farmers are now getting an average yield rate of three tonnes of clean Aman rice grains per hectare of land," Alam said, adding that a super bumper production of Aman rice is likely in the region that produces a huge surplus of rice.
Beginning from early October, farmers completed harvest of short duration Aman rice cultivated 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 sowing seeds of potato, winter vegetables and other Rabi crops on the same land," Alan said, adding that harvest of Aman rice on the remaining 10,182 hectares of land will complete by the next week. Farmers Echhahaq Ali, Nurul Amin, Bulbul Ahmed and Khokan Mian of Rangpur said that they have got excellent yield rates of Aman rice after completing harvest this season. Farmer Ariful Haque of village Najirdigar here said sharecropper cultivated varieties of Aman rice on his seven acres of land and got yield rates between 45 and 55 mounds (every 40-kg is one mound) per acre of land this season. "Farmers are happy to get the current market price of coarse varieties of Aman paddy between Taka 1,100 and Taka 1,200 per mound," he added.