Boro harvest begins in Rangpur

After exceeding the fixed farming target, farmers have started harvesting of Boro rice with a hope to achieve its bumper production this season in the agriculture region.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers are getting an excellent yield rate of Boro rice at this initial stage of harvesting as the process will get full momentum from mid-May next in all five districts of the region.

Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing 21.54 lakh tonnes of clean Boro rice (32.31 lakh tonnes of paddy) from 4.96 lakh hectares of land for the region this season.

“Braving the coronavirus pandemic, farmers have cultivated Boro rice on 5.03 lakh hectares of land, 1.41 percent higher than the fixed farming target,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Khandker Abdul Wahed said.

Getting necessary assistance from the government under the post-flood agriculture rehabilitation programme, farmers have brought more lands under Boro rice cultivation also to recoup the crop losses they incurred during the last year’s floods.

“Till Friday, farmers have harvested Boro rice on 10,120 hectares of land in the region producing 35,367 tonnes of clean rice at the excellent average yield rate of 3.49 tonnes of clean rice per hectare,” Wahed said.

“We are expecting a bumper production of Boro rice if the climatic conditions remained favourable during the next couple of months in the region where around 1.80 lakh farm-labourers would be engaged in harvesting the crop from late-May next.

Many farmers are utilising combined harvester machines for harvesting Boro paddy on one acre of land using one machine in an hour spending only Taka 3,000 against Taka 6,000 for the same purpose on one acre of land by engaging labourers.

“The government through the DAE has distributed combined harvester machines among farmers and groups of farmers at Taka 14 lakh per unit against the real price of Taka 28 lakh at 50 percent subsidised rates,” he said.

Besides, farmers are easily harvesting their cultivated Boro rice on crop lands using reaper machines in all five districts of the region this season.

“The field-level DAE officials and experts extended assistance to farmers and provided latest technologies to make the Boro rice cultivation programme a success,” Wahed added.

Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur Dr Md Sarwarul Haque said the government had ensured smooth irrigation, supply of fuel, fertiliser and electricity to achieve the fixed Boro rice production target.

Talking to BSS, farmers Mokhlesur Rahman, Mohsin Ali, Abdul Halim, Ekramul Haque and Manik Miah of different villages in Rangpur said they have cultivated Boro rice on two to six acres of land each this season.

They have already started harvesting their cultivated Boro rice and are getting excellent yield rates now and expecting to get a bumper production of the major cereal crop this time.

“Sharecroppers have cultivated Boro rice on my six acres of land and started harvesting the crop a couple of days ago,” said farmer Ariful Haque of Najirdigar village in Rangpur sadar upazila and hoped to get a bumper production.