Gaibandha Correspondent :
Cultivation of T-Aman paddy, high value crop, has begun in all the seven upazilas of the district amid much enthusiasm.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office sources said a total of 1, 19,995 hectares of land would be brought under T-Aman paddy cultivation during the current Aman season with the production target of 3,12,146 tonnes of rice.
Of the total, some 1,04,558 hectares of land would be cultivated HYV (high yield variety) with an output target of 2,84,161 tonnes of rice, 1,570 hectares hybrid with the target of 5,180 tonness and 13,867 hectares LV (local variety) with the target of 22,805 tonnes, sources said.
The upazila wise breakup of the land to be cultivated is : 17,500 hectares of land in Sadar upazila, 14,200 in Sadullapur upazila, 12,700 in Palashbari upazila, 28,250 in Gobindaganj upazila, 26,300 in Sundarganj upazila, 14,600 in Saghata upazila and 6445 in Fulchhari upazila.
To bring the land under the farming the farmers of the district have
prepared seedbed of 7,955 hectares of land where the seedlings have grown well. Meanwhile, the farmers have so much busy to transplant the seedlings on the land lifting from the seedbed to get desired output against the crop.
Earlier, to make the cultivation programme a success, Bangladesh
Agricultural Development Corporation and its approved dealers distributed high quality Aman seeds to the farmers of the district at fair prices.
Besides, different state run commercial banks including Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank have taken initiatives to disburse agri loans on easy terms to the poor and marginal farmers to help them cultivate the T-Aman paddy on their land without economical hardship, said a bank official.
In addition, DAE has been conducting training for the farmers for adopting modern technologies of paddy cultivation, crop management, judicious use of fertilizer and preservation of quality seeds, said Shawkat Osman, Additional Deputy Director (Crop) of DAE.
To ensure the production of T-Aman paddy in the district this year, BMDA has also kept its electricity run 365 deep tube-wells fully ready in a bid to supply irrigation water to the Aman paddy field, if necessary, said executive engineer Qudrat-e-Elahi.
Talking to BSS deputy director of DAE AKM Ruhul Amin said 20 percent transplantation had already been completed in the district till July 27, 2015.
Necessary measures had been taken for availability of fertilizers,
insecticides and other agri- inputs at the grass root level of the district during the current Aman season.
BSS from Chapainawabganj adds: Due to adequate rainfall, the farmers have been cultivating Transplanted Aman (T-Aman) in the district comfortably.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office sources said, getting adequate rain water in the paddy fields farmers have so far cultivated 68 percent land in the district.
A total of 49,193 hectares of land were brought under T-Aman cultivation in five upazilas of the district this year with the production target of 1,27,575 tonnes of rice, DAE sources said.
Meanwhile, seedlings of T-Aman paddy have been planted on 33,405 hectares of land, the sources added.
Deputy Director of DAE M Saiful Islam said the cultivation is likely to be completed within a week.
He also said that in July there was 285 mm rainfall in the district and as a result, no irrigation was needed for the cultivation of lands.
