Rangpur: With multifaceted support from the interim government, farmers have produced an all-time record of 23,02,272 tonnes of clean Boro rice (34,53,408 tonnes in terms of paddy) in the Rangpur agricultural region. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) officials said farmers have exceeded the fixed production target of 22,94,195 tonnes of clean Boro rice by 8,077 tonnes this season.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the record Boro rice production has been achieved due to various practical measures taken by the interim government to ensure national food security. These measures included providing special incentives, encouraging farmers to increase cultivation of high-yielding and hybrid varieties of Boro rice, ensuring the proper supply of fertilizers and electricity for irrigation, using the latest technology, and proper agricultural management.
Earlier, the interim government through the DAE had set a target of producing 22,94,195 tonnes of clean Boro rice (34,41,292 tonnes of paddy) from 5,08,978 hectares of land across all five districts in the Rangpur agricultural region. "Getting necessary support from the interim government, farmers finally transplanted Boro rice seedlings on 5,09,056 hectares of land, exceeding the fixed farming target by 0.02 percent in the region this time," said Shafikul Islam, Additional Director of the DAE for the Rangpur region.
Farmers expanded cultivation of high-yielding and hybrid varieties of Boro rice in both mainland and low-lying char areas, leading to bumper production of the staple food grain. They also adopted the latest conservation agriculture (CA)-based technologies such as alternative wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation methods and organic pest management, resulting in increased rice production at lower costs.
After completing the harvest earlier this week, farmers produced 23,02,272 tonnes of clean Boro rice at an average yield rate of 4.52 tonnes per hectare this season. "Although the arable land area has been decreasing in recent years, rice production, including Boro rice, continues to increase in the region due to the government's pragmatic steps to address the adverse effects of climate change," Shafiqul Islam added.
In previous years, farmers produced 22,83,459 tonnes of clean Boro rice in 2024, 22,40,429 tonnes in 2023, and 21,93,000 tonnes in 2022 in the Rangpur agricultural region. Independence Award 2018 Medal (food security) awardee Agriculturist Dr. Md Abdul Mazid noted that well-timed transplantation of seedlings and necessary assistance provided by the interim government to farmers contributed to the bumper Boro rice yields this season.
"The expanded adoption of CA-based technologies has increased Boro rice production in the region despite relatively low rainfall," said Dr. Mazid, a former chief scientific officer of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
Farmers such as Ariful Haque Batul, Mostafizur Rahman, Mominul Haque, and Solaiman Ali from different villages in Rangpur expressed their gratitude to the interim government for procuring Boro rice directly from farmers at a fair price. "We are getting comparatively better market prices of Boro paddy at rates between Taka 1,200 and 1,300 per mound (every 40 kgs) in local markets," said farmer Mofizar Rahman of Dolapara village in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur district.