Narsingdi: Favourable weather throughout the season has resulted in Narsingdi farmers achieving a higher-than-targeted yield of transplanted Aman paddy this year. Growers across the district are reporting bumper production with improved grain quality.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said that government support, including free fertiliser and seed distribution alongside field-level motivation programmes, encouraged farmers to bring more land under Aman cultivation than initially planned. Favourable weather conditions resulted in an average yield of five metric tonnes per hectare. About 18 to 20 percent of the crop has already been harvested, and the remainder is expected to be collected soon.
Field visits showed that farmers are simultaneously preparing land for mustard cultivation as they complete the Aman harvest. Many growers, though satisfied with the yield, remain concerned about recovering production costs amid unstable market prices. Nazarul Islam, a farmer from Monohardi, mentioned that timely rainfall and the absence of major weather disruptions contributed to strong output, harvesting around 20 to 21 maunds of paddy from one bigha of land. However, he expressed concern about obtaining fair prices for his produce.
Harunur Rashid, a farmer from Musapur in Raipura, reported that some fields were affected by fungal infections and rodent attacks, but overall production and grain quality remained good. Salahuddin Tipu, additional deputy director of DAE in Narsingdi, attributed the bumper yield to favourable weather, no natural disasters, and comprehensive government assistance. He advised farmers to dry and store their paddy properly to sell later when the market improves.
DAE data show that the target for transplanted Aman production in the district was 40,941 metric tonnes this year, while actual output stood at 40,883 metric tonnes.