The farmers in Jhenaidah had started cultivating the transplanting Aman (T Aman) with harm with firm determination this season.
Suitable price of the paddy and also the paddy straw had encouraged the farmers to take measures in additional farming the cereal crop. It might bring at least 20 per cent of the additional land under T Aman farming in the season in six upazilas of the district, said the farmers.
Farmer Rabiul Islam of village Jalilpur in bordering Moheshpur upazila said he cultivated T-Aman on his two bighas of land in the last season. Due to good price the farmer is preparing seedbeds for two and half bigha. He is expecting 35 maunds of paddy this season, Rabiul Islam said.
Another farmer of Kalicharanpur village in Jhenaidah Sadar upazila Anil Kumar said the present price of paddy had encouraged him to bring 120 decimals of land as against last season’s 100 decimals. They were also encouraged when the price of straw meant for fodder was higher in the market.
The farmers said they have been using BINA 7, BR 39, 49, 23, 51 , BR 10 and 11 supplied by Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), while some other varieties supplied by some seed marketing companies in the season.
Anil Kumar said he received Taka 8,500 from each bigha of land excluding production cost, while going to receive Taka 14,000 from the same land this year. Here he will have to spend Taka 5,000 to 6,000 for production cost on each bigha, he added.
According to the office of the deputy director of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jhenidah, the farmers of the district had produced a total of 352,515 tons of T Aman rice on 104,125 hectares of land. The DAE had thrown target to produce 306,081 tons of rice on the same area of land this season.
The sources said they had taken target to bring 25,380 hectares of land in Jhenidah Sadar, 18,550 hectares in Kaliganj, 6,120 hectares in Kotchandpur, 18,140 hectares in bordering Moheshpur, 24,825 hectares in Shailkupa and remaining 11,050 hectares of land in Harinakundu upazila under the T Aman farming in the season.
Upazila agriculture officer (UAO) of the DAE in Jhenidah Mofaqkharul Islam when contacted said the farmers of his area are expanding their T Aman cultivation land having good prices in last couple of months. Now they are prepared to grow saplings on the seedbeds as they require.
Further, the increasing price of fodder (paddy straw) was a lucrative matter for the farmers. The present price of paddy and straw will help strengthen the socio-economic state of the farmers in Jhenidah, Mofaqkharul Islam said.
