Experts at a farmer’s field day have stressed expanded production and use of organic fertilisers to improve soil health and ensure sustainable crop productivity reducing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
They emphasized the need for proper application of organic fertilizer also to improve soil texture, fertility, increase nutrient and moisture holding capacity, upgrade sandy land to sandy-loamy, sandy loamy to loamy and subsequently to clay soil.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) with assistance of the Win Sources Limited and 66 Artillery Division at Rangpur Cantonment organised the occasion at Kellabond Block under Sadar upazila here on Wednesday.
The field day was arranged on the BRRI dhan 48 Aus rice exhibition plot of farmer Ashek Rahman to demonstrate effectiveness of using organic fertilisers in improving soil health and fertility to increase crop yield.
General Officers Commanding of 66 Artillery Division Major General Salah Uddin Miazi attended the event as the chief guest with Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Afzal Hossain in the chair.
Commanding Officer of 15 Bir Battalion of Rangpur Cantonment Lt Colonel Shahadat Sikder, Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur Zulfiqar Haider and Regional Director of Agriculture Information Service Abu Sayem spoke as special guests.
Sadar Upazila Sub- assistant Agriculture Officer Isarat Ali, farmer Ashek Rahman also spoke on the occasion of field day participated by over 200 farmers of the area.
Farmer Ashek narrated how did he cultivate BRRI dhan 48 Aus rice on his 33 decimals of land separated in three portions with 11 decimals each using chemical, organic and organic with vermi-compost fertilisers in each portion respectively this season.
He said he had the highest yield rate from 11 decimals land where he had cultivated the rice using organic fertilisers along with vermi-compost.
The speakers stressed maintaining soil health to improve fertility to get increased crop output for ensuring national food security through proper use of the substitute organic fertilizers.
They discussed latest technologies and ways for production, preservation, proper management and application of organic fertilisers like compost fertilisers, green manures and vermin-composts to the crop fields as per soil tests results.
The chief guest asked the farmers for enhancing production and use organic fertilisers to increase crop output and to maintain soil health, environment, ecology and bio-diversity for the future generations.
