BSS, Rajshahi :
Brridhan-62, a zinc-enriched paddy variety, has gained popularity among farmers in the region including its vast barind tract during the current transplanted Aman season.
The newly innovated paddy variety has opened up a door of enormous prospects of mitigating zinc and protein deficiency besides fighting diarrhea and pneumonia-induced childhood deaths and stunting.
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) released the variety for all over the country last year after a latest breakthrough in research in the field. It’s a short-duration high-yielding variety of rice which could be cultivated in Aman season.
The BRRI breeders developed the hi-zinc rice with support from Harvest Plus, which is a global bio-fortification mission.
Dr Khairul Bashar, Country Manager of Harvest Plus Bangladesh, told BSS that the BRRI 62 has been the most-discussed rice variety as it is a zinc-fortified breed and have been developed to meet the necessary requirement of micronutrient for a human body coupled with ensuring food security.
Each kilogram of rice of BRRI dhan-62 contained 19 mg of zinc and 9 percent of protein which will ensure high nutrition and will play a significant role in prevention of diseases; Zinc also played a vital role in prevention of liver-related diseases.
Zinc, iron and vitamin-A are the three most vital micronutrients, deficiency of which hampers children’s natural growth and decrease their disease prevention capacity.
In Bangladesh, over 40 percent children under five are stunted while an estimated 44 percent children of the same age group are at risk of zinc deficiency.
The variety is the world’s first-ever rice class developed in a bio-fortified system through breeding between local rice variety Zira Katari and BRRI dhan 39, Dr Bashar said.
It’s a short duration rice variety which can be harvested 100 days after plantation and this variety may give yield up to 4.5 to 6 tonnes per hectare if nurtured properly, he added.
It is expected that consumption of the rice enriched with zinc will highly remove malnutrition. Particularly, this rice will help protect child health, he said.
International Center for Tropical Agriculture and International Food Policy Research Institute are jointly implementing the harvest plus project aims at promoting the variety throughout the country.
Various government and non-government development organizations including Department of Agriculture Extension are supplementing the field level promotional activities in 50 districts of the country during the current transplanted aman season.
More than 11,500 demonstration plots were set up and above 60 field day-cum-farmers gatherings were arranged in various locations of the districts to disseminate aspects of the variety among the farmers.
By virtue of early harvesting characteristics the variety is very much helpful to cultivate various rabi crops like tomato, brinjal, mustard and vegetables for additional income before going to boro farming.
Dr Bashar mentioned that the variety has been developed by genetically crossing with local variety but it’s not genetically modified rice.
