Sylhet Bureau :
Boro harvesting has begun in Sylhet division, including the haor areas, with the government expecting a bumper production of the main staple crop this season.
Various high-yielding and hybrid varieties of paddy have been cultivated in vast areas of the division.
If there is no disaster or natural calamity, marginal farmers and agriculture department officials are hoping that this year’s yield will exceed the target.
Due to different initiatives taken by the government and favourable weather conditions, there may be a bumper boro production this year, said Additional Director Dilip Kumar Adhikari of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sylhet division.
DAE sources said Boro has been cultivated on 483,703 hectares of land in 424 haor areas under four districts of the division, with a production target of 1.934 million tons of rice.
Sunamganj is famous for Boro in the division. The crop has been cultivated on 223,330 hectares of land with a production target of 885,299 tons of rice in the district.
In Habiganj, the paddz has been cultivated in 122,130 hectares in 54 haors, with a production target of 518,151 tons of rice.
In Moulvibazar, six big haors have been brought under the cultivation, with a production target of 218,022 tons.
The existing congenial weather has made the paddz farmers optimistic about getting a good yield of Boro paddz in the region.
Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, 50, a farmer of Sunamganj sadar upazila, said he has cultivated paddz on 60 bighas of land.
As farmers continue harvesting in full swing, the DAE officials hope that the country this year could see bumper production of Boro, the largest cereal crop in terms of output volume.
Sohel Ahmed, a farmer from Nalua Haor in Sunamganj, said as he benefited from the variety last year, so he cultivated Boro on more land this year.
DAE officials said the farmers started harvesting on April 5 with their help.
The harvest of Boro has started on a limited scale, and will start fully from April 15, said DAE Additional Director Dilip Kumar Adhikari.
District and upazila level agricultural officers have been ordered to stay with the farmers to operate the harvesting period smoothly, he added.
