Bumper T-Aman yield, good price delight farmers in Khulna, Sirajganj

UNB, Sirajganj :

Harvesting of Transplanted Aman (T-Aman) paddy is going on in the full swing in Sirajganj and farmers are happy seeing a bumper yield and good prices this season.
According to Agriculture Department this year’s T-Aman paddy production in nine upazilas of Sirajganj will exceed the target as the farmers have brought more land under cultivation exceeding the target of of 74,670 hectares.
Season’s highest amount of T-Aman saplings were planted at Tarash, Ullapara, Shahjadpur, Rayganj, Kamakhand and Sirajganj sadar upazilas.
Hares Ali, a farmer from Tarash upazila said, they started planting seeds creating seedbeds immediately after flood water receded.
“After that in August we started planting the saplings in fields. Though the fertilizer and irrigation cost was high this year we are happy getting bumper production,” he said.
The purchase and sale of paddy has already started in various markets of the district.
“Currently, per mound of paddy is being sold at Tk 1300 to 1400 in the market which is comparatively higher than the previous year,” said Abdul Baten, a farmer from Ullapara upazila.
Already the hay traders have started visiting villages and the markets to buy straw and farmers are expecting a good price from it too.
Babul Kumar Sutradhar, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said that the farmers were given timely advice to cultivate T-Aman in the current season.
“Due to the favorable weather condition, there has been a bumper yield. Almost half of the cultivated land in the district has already been harvested and the harvesting will be completed in the next 2-1 weeks,” he said.
BSS from Khulna adds: Harvest of Transplanted Aman (T-Aman) paddy has been progressing in full swing at all the four districts under Khulna region for a couple of weeks.
This year, Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has fixed plantation target is 2, 99,110 hectares of land and the production target has been set at 12,07,805 tonnes of paddy in Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira and Narail districts in the region.
“Farmers have cultivated Aman paddy on 2,95,570 hectares of land, less by 3,540 hectares or 1.18 percent against the fixed farming target,” said Foiz Ahmed Mina, sub-assistant agriculture officer in Khulna.
The cultivation target was achieved 98.82 percent after blissful rain though the transplantation of Aman seedlings was hampered at the initial and middle stages of the season due to drought-like situation. But the production has exceeded the target.
Currently, the growers are harvesting the crop with great enthusiasm and getting bumper production of the paddy which they did not even expect, he said.
Additional Director of the DAE of Khulna Region Md Faridul Hasan told BSS that favorable climatic condition, proper distribution of high-quality seed by Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) and timely supply of fertilizers and other agro-input to the growers are the reasons for getting desired production.
The DAE also provided training to the farmers for adopting modern
technologies, crop management and preservation of quality seeds, he added.
“At least 498.7 hectares of crop lands were totally damaged by cyclone ‘Sitrang’,” he said, adding that some 7,033.4 tonnes of crops worth Taka 15.58cr were destroyed by the cyclonic storm.
 Hasan said the DAE is going to adopt an agricultural rehabilitation programme in the cyclonic storm affected areas shortly, after receiving allocation from the government.
He, however, said about 46, 211 hectares of land has been harvested so far or 15.6 percent harvest of the paddy had already been completed and rest would be finished here by December.