Panchagarh Correspondent :
Farmers in the district are expecting a bumper Boro production in this year due to favourable weather and necessary technical support from the local Agriculture Department.
DAE sources said, a total of 33,832 hectares of land have been brought under Boro cultivation this year with a production target of 1,34,707 tonnes of rice.
Farmer Sobash Chandra of Sabouspara village under Debiganj upazila said “we are cultivating Boro paddy spending Taka 24,000 on three bighas of land this season and expecting Taka 20,000 to Taka 22,000 as profit money from the production”.
Deputy director Md Nazrul Islam told BSS that the department has supplied all necessary seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other agriculture inputs at a fair price among the farmers to achieve the target.
Besides, the department has also imparted training to the farmers to make them acquainted with the modern methods of Boro cultivation.
The farmers said that they would start harvesting of Boro paddy within a few days.
Boro paddy harvest begins in Gaibandha
BSS from Gaibandha adds: Harvest of Boro paddy has begun in all the seven upazilas of the district during the current season with much enthusiasm to the farmers.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said farmers of the district cultivated Boro paddy on a total of 1, 25,325 hectares of land this year with the production target of 5,04, 425 tonnes of rice this year.
Of the total, some 19,630 hectares were brought under the cultivation programme in Sadar Upazila, 14,925 in Sadullapur, 12,775 in Palashbari, 30,550 in Gobindaganj, 24,100 in Sundarganj, 15,050 in Shaghata and 8,295 in Fulchhari Upazila.
Farmers of the district are expecting a bumper production of Boro paddy this year as they are getting at least 22-24 mounds of paddy from a bigha of land.
The farmers are also satisfied to get fair prices against the high value crop this year as at present per mound (40-kg) of the paddy is being sold between Taka 600-620 in local market, said Aminul Islam, a farmer of Barobaldia village under Sadar upazila.
Favourable climatic condition, proper distribution of high quality seed of BADC and timely supply of electricity, fertilizers and other agri inputs to the growers are the main reasons behind the expectation, said the growers.
To make the cultivation programme a grand success and to bring all arable land under the programme, the commercial banks including Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank also disbursed soft loan to the poor and the marginal farmers during the season.
While visiting some areas of the district the correspondent found that harvest of early varieties of Boro paddy particularly BIRI-28 started amid much enthusiasm.
Talking to BSS DAE deputy director of DAE Mir Abdur Razzak said 10 percent of Boro paddy had already been harvested.
