Rangpur farmers eyeing excellent Aush rice yield as harvest continues

After getting repeated bumper yields in recent years, farmers are expecting an excellent production of Aush rice as harvest of the crop continues in Rangpur agriculture region during the current Kharif-1 season too.  

Enthusiastic farmers are harvesting the less irrigation-water consuming and short-duration Aush rice as an additional crop aiming at transplanting Aman rice seedlings on the same land after completing harvest by mid-August next.  

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing 1,76,655 tonnes of clean Aush rice (2,64,982 tonnes of paddy) from 58,300 hectares of land this season for the agricultural region. 

"However, farmers have finally brought 55,270 hectares of land under Aush rice cultivation, less by 3,030 hectares against the set farming target," 

Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur Region Krishibid Md Shirajul Islam told BSS today (8 July).

The fixed target for Aush rice farming could not be achieved due to crop diversification and cultivation of maize, vegetables and other crops on more land in all five districts of this region-- Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari this time.

Meanwhile, farmers have already harvested Aush rice on 14,184 hectares of land producing 46,022 tonnes of clean rice at an excellent average yield rate of 3.24 tonnes per hectare.

Despite the adverse effects of climate change, the cultivation and production of Aush rice has been increasing in the region in recent years as a result of the government's pragmatic steps to increase food production to ensure national food security.

These measures include distributing special incentives in the form of high-yielding varieties of seeds and fertilizers among farmers, conducting motivational publicity campaigns and providing them with training and latest technology.

Krishibid Md Shirajul Islam said, "Farmers are showing more interest in cultivating Aush rice as an additional crop on more land to increase rice production during the off-season after harvesting Boro rice and before transplanting Aman rice seedlings.  

During the last Kharif-1 season, farmers produced 1,84,603 tonnes of clean Aush rice (2,76,905 tonnes in terms of paddy) by cultivating the crop on 61,163 hectares in Rangpur agricultural region. 

In 2024, farmers produced 1,84,617 tonnes of clean Aush rice (2,76,925 tonnes in terms of paddy) from 61,782 hectares of land in the region. 

Besides, farmers produced 1,84,600 tonnes of clean Aush rice from 61,782 hectares of land in 2023 and 1,78,777 tonnes of clean rice from 63,680 hectares in 2022 in the region.

Krishibid Md Shirajul Islam said that farmers can easily cultivate Aman rice on the same land after harvesting Aush rice by mid-August to increase crop intensity and enhance rice production to ensure food security. 

"Farmers are cultivating Aush rice, mostly using unused rainwater during May, June and July, adopting the latest technologies and increasing rice output every year amidst adverse impacts of climate change in the agriculture sector," he said. 

Talking to BSS, farmers Farhad Hossain, Abul Kalam Azad and Omar Faruk from different villages of Rangpur Sadar upazila said that they are expecting a bumper harvest of Aush rice as the crop plants are growing well in favorable weather this season.

Farmers Nazrul Gani, Sohrab Hossain and Anil Chandra from different villages of Taraganj upazila of Rangpur have expressed satisfaction with the current market price of freshly harvested Aush paddy at Tk1,200 to Tk1,300 per maund.