For the last few years, Kalijira paddy is being grown on a limited scale in Chatmohar upazila of Pabna. Many amateur farmers of the area have started farming this paddy along with other varieties for eating fancy dishes including Polaw and Payesh.
The rice produced from this small and thin paddy variety of black colour, is very thin in shape, so people who are food lovers and are fond of eating fancy food like Polaw and Payesh love this paddy variety. So the value of this fragrant rice is gradually increasing in the upazila of Pabna.
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According to Chatmohar office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Kalijira paddy has been cultivated in fifteen hectares of land in Chatmohar upazila this season. Some farmers have sown the seeds of Kalijira paddy on the high lands of Dibigram, Mulgram and Haripur unions in the upazila.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, an agronomy teacher at Bilchalan Union High School as well as a Kalijira paddy farmer of Bejpara village of the upazila, said he has been cultivating Kalijira paddy for the last three years. This year, he has cultivated ten Kathas of land with this paddy variety.
He has so far spent Tk 3,000 for land preparation, for purchase of seedlings, for planting and weeding, for hiring laborer and for buying fertilizer. With good yield, 7 to 8 mounds of yield could be obtained per Bigha of land. The paddy can be sold at a price of Tk 1,800 to 2,000. Some more money can be earned by selling paddy straw, he added.
Chatmohar Upazila Agriculture Officer AA Masum Billah said the price of Kalijira paddy in the market is always higher than any other paddy. However, the yield is slightly lower than other paddy varieties.
