The farmers in Jhenaidah have been expressing their satisfaction over the present market price of newly harvested Aus paddy. Dissatisfaction due to least price of the most important cereal crop was almost removed when they were receiving optimum prices more than the past years.
It might increase the area of Aus and other paddy farming in the next years in the district, said farmers.
Shamsul Islam and Amalendu Biswas when contacted at triangle Langalbandh weekly market in the bordering area of Jhenidah, Magura and Rajbari district said they sold each maund of per 40 kilograms of course variety paddy at Taka 870 to 880. The fine variety like BR 28 and similar varieties were selling at Taka 980 to 990 each maund.
The farmers said they received hardly 65 percent of the price of their paddy last session. They are glad enough to receive the price which will encourage the farmers to lean towards paddy farming next seasons.
Some other farmers at Hatgopalpur Bazer in Jhenidah Sadar upazila had expressed almost same opinion following the optimum prices of the Aus paddy in the current season.
According to the office of the deputy director of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah, the farmers in six upazilas of the district brought a total of 35,490 hectares of land this season. Achievement in farming the Aus was 101 per cent when the DAE had fixed target for 35,280 hectares.
Upazila wise breakup of the Aus farming was 2,195 hectares in Jhenidah Sadar, 1,895 hectares in Kaliganj, 4,126 hectares in Kotchandpur, 13,170 hectares in Moheshpur, 12,455 hectares in Shailkupa and 1,190 hectares in Harinakundu upapzila.
The farmers in the district had produced 105,653 tones of Aus paddy on 33,100 hectares in the last season. The average production of Aus was 3.19 tones where the high yielding variety (HYV) provided 4.02 tones and hybrid was 3.15 tones on each hectare, DAE sources said.
DAE Deputy Director Kripangshu Sekhar Biswas when contacted said the farmers have started harvesting the Aus in first week of August which might continue till mid September. About 46 per cent of the paddy was harvested till August 18, Deputy Director said.
