BSS, Rangpur :
Agriculture experts have stressed for conserving soil health and speeding up farm activities through modernisation of agriculture to make it more profitable by increasing crop yield at reduced production cost.
They suggested for expanded cultivation of drought tolerant rice adopting conservation agriculture (CA)-based and mechanised Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) with Power Tiller Operated Seeder (PTOS) technologies to increase rice yield under adverse climate.
They were addressing a farmers’ field day organised by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) and RDRS Bangladesh under Sustainable and Resilient Farming System Intensification Project in Mirjapur village under Pirganj upazila here on Monday.
BARI and RDRS Bangladesh have been jointly implementing the project for expanding cultivation of drought tolerant rice with assistance of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre.
Principal Scientific Officer (On-farm Research Division-OFD) at Rangpur Station of BARI Dr Mazharul Anwar attended the occasion and inaugurated crop cutting of drought tolerant and short duration (105-110 days) BRRI dhan56 and BRRI dhan57 rice as chief guest.
Senior Scientific Assistant (OFD) of BARI Mohammad Ali Mandal, Sub-assistant Agriculture Officer of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Oli Ahad and Senior Agriculture Officer of RDRS Bangladesh Anup Kumar Ghosh addressed as special guests.
Presided over by Scientific Officer (OFD) at Rangpur Research Station of BARI Akhter-Ul-Alam, 47 female and 55 male farmers, local community leaders, elite and common people attended the occasions.
Local farmers Mrs. Shakila Alam and Mohammad Azad Farooque narrated the success achieved in farming drought tolerant BRRI dhan56 and BRRI dhan57 rice using the CA-based DSR and PTOS technologies on their crop fields.
