Bogura:Harvesting of the high-yielding BRRI-103 rice variety, developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), has commenced on a demonstration plot located in Kaichar block of Phapor Union under Bogura Sadar upazila. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) organized the event to showcase the potential yield of this rice variety and to encourage local farmers to adopt its cultivation.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the harvesting event was followed by a discussion involving farmers, entrepreneurs, and local residents regarding agricultural activities for the upcoming Rabi season. Deputy Commissioner Taufiqur Rahman, who addressed the event as the chief guest, urged farmers to increase agricultural production while ensuring food safety through the careful use of pesticides and fertilizers. He also encouraged women to engage in entrepreneurial agricultural activities, advising farmers to utilize support from Family Cards for income-generation, such as poultry rearing and cultivating fallow land.
The speakers at the event emphasized the transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, the importance of coordinated cultivation and harvesting, and ensuring fair pricing for agricultural produce. They also highlighted the potential for processing crops into value-added products like muri (puffed rice), chira (flattened rice), and seeds. The meeting was presided over by Sohel Md Shamsuddin Firoz, deputy director of the DAE, and attended by various officials and local farmers.
Sohel Md Shamsuddin Firoz noted that the BRRI-103 variety yielded 20 to 22 maunds of paddy per bigha in its freshly harvested state, which would reduce to at least 18 maunds after drying. The variety is said to produce slender and export-quality rice. The DAE plans to verify yield data with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) before promoting the variety's cultivation among farmers, especially marginal farmers, as an early-maturing crop.
Lead farmer Abdus Salam reported that BRRI-103 had been cultivated on around 150 bighas of land in the block, achieving an average yield of 18 to 20 maunds per bigha. He highlighted the benefits of the variety's early maturity, which allows for the cultivation of an additional crop on the same land, and its production of valuable straw and slender-grain rice that fetches a good market price. Farmers can also earn extra income by preserving seeds at the correct moisture level.
The event was attended by local farmers, trainees, community representatives, and 34 officials from the Sadar Agriculture Office. After the discussion, the guests visited the demonstration plots to address farmers' questions regarding the BRRI-103 variety and Rabi season farming practices.