97pc Boro paddy harvested in haor areas: agriculture ministry

Ninety seven percent of Boro paddy was harvested in the country's haor areas, said the agriculture ministry today. This year, Boro paddy was cultivated on 453,400 hectares of land in the seven districts of the haor areas- - Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Netrokona and Brahmanbaria. Of the total cultivated land, Boro paddy from 438,000 hectares of land was harvested, said the release. In the haor areas, a total of 4,400 combined harvesters are being used to harvest Boro paddy as the agriculture minister provided 100 more harvesters this year. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Boro had been sown on a total of 5,058,000 lakh hectares of land across the country this year, up by 20, 000 hectares from last year, with a production target of two crore and 22 lakh tonnes of Boro rice. Earlier, Agriculture Minister Dr Md. Abdus Shahid said the government provided the Boro paddy growers with free agricultural inputs, including seeds and fertilizer worth Taka 215 crore to increase the production of Boro, the main staple food crop in the country. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha