A bumper crop of Aman paddyhas been produced in Sylhet. Farmers have already started harvesting and threshing Aman paddy. Farmers are smiling because of the good yield of paddy. However, the farmers are not worried about getting a fair price even for the bumper yield. Meanwhile, agriculture officials of Sylhet say that farmers have been given free seeds and fertilizers along with combined harvesters, rice transplanters, reapers, and threshing machines to solve the labor crisis in the four districts of the division.
Sylhet Agriculture Extension Department said - among the four districts, Sylhet district has the highest yield. After that, Aman's bumpers were harvested in Moulvibazar, Habiganj, and Sunamganj respectively. In the four districts of the division, the target of Ropa Aman paddy cultivation this year was 4 lakh 3 thousand 280 hectares. And 4 lakh 15 thousand 546 hectares of land have been cultivated. This year there is a target of production of 10 lakh 74 thousand 800 metric tons of rice in hybrid, Ufshi, and local varieties of paddy.
About 49.58 percent of Ropa Aman paddy has been harvested in Sylhet till Sunday (December 04). To date, 2 lakh 3 thousand 49 hectares of land has been cut and 5 lakh 38 thousand 379 metric tons of rice has been produced in the department.
Sylhet District Deputy Director of the Agricultural Extension Department Mohammad Khair Uddin Molla said that 42 percent of the paddy has already been harvested in the district, and all the paddy in the district will be harvested within the next 15 days. In Sylhet district, 1 lakh 40 thousand 500 hectares of land was targeted for paddy cultivation. And 1 lakh 43 thousand 473 hectares of land has been cultivated. This year rice production target is 3 lakh 57 thousand 930 metric tons. But hopefully, it will be surpassed. For the benefit of paddy harvesting, the farmers have been provided with paddy harvesting machines and free improved seeds and fertilizers under the Agricultural Mechanization Scheme.
Besides that In the Moulvibazar district, the target for Aman cultivation this year was 1 lakh 14 thousand 55 hectares. And 1 lakh 16 thousand hectares of land has been cultivated. The rice production target has been set at 2 lakh 97 thousand 463 metric tons.
In the Habiganj district this year the target was 80 thousand 210 hectares of land. And 88 thousand 258 hectares of land have been cultivated. The target of rice production is 2 lakh 20 thousand 371 metric tons.
In the Sunamganj district this year the target was set at 81 thousand 115 hectares of land. And 82 thousand 215 hectares of land have been cultivated. The rice production target has been set at 1 lakh 99 thousand 36 metric tons.
Farmers said that despite several floods this year, they have cultivated local, Ufshi, and hybrid varieties of rice on the land. Every year, there is a shortage of workers for harvesting rice, so there is a delay in harvesting the rice. However, paddy harvesting is also going on with machines. We are very happy with the yield of paddy despite the severe floods. Appealing to the government to ensure the fair price of the crops of the farmers, he said that if they do not get the right price for the crops, they will suffer more this time as always.
Divisional Agriculture Extension Directorate Additional Director Sylhet. Mosharraf Hossain Khan said that the target for Ropa Aman paddy cultivation in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, and Habiganj districts was 4 lakh 3 thousand 280 hectares. 4 lakh 15 thousand 546 hectares of land has been cultivated. This year hybrid, Ufshi, and local varieties of paddy mile section have a target of 10 lakh 74 thousand 800 metric tons of rice production. However, rice production will exceed the target. All the rice ripens at the same time and there is a shortage of people to harvest the rice. A lot of machines have been given to the farmers of the department for harvesting paddy. So there is nothing to worry about a labor shortage. Besides, we are trying to ensure that the farmers get a fair price for their crops.