Bumper yield of Parija makes farmers happy
BSS
The farmers are now very happy getting bumper production of the indigenous parija rice as an additional Aus crop in Rangpur division this season, reports BSS.
With the assistance of RDRS Bangladesh, a total of 2,250 farmers cultivated parija rice on 2,250 bigha lands in Rangpur division after harvesting wheat, maize, tobacco and others crops during the last Rabi season.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of the NGO Mamunur Rashid today told BSS that the farmers have completed parija rice harvest to produce 1,200 tonne paddy with excellent yield rate of 3.8 tonne per hectare on an average this time. He said farming of the eco-friendly parija rice required no supplementary irrigation as its plants grew superbly using seasonal rainfalls in May, June and July reducing pressure on underground water reserves.
The parija rice seed can be sowed using direct seeded rice method to harvest in 90 days or transplanted 18-day old seedlings to harvest in 75 days to achieve the maximum yield under changed climate without hampering Aman cultivation. While narrating prospect of parija rice, Mamun said Bangladesh could become a rice-exporting nation if the indigenous rice was cultivated in 35-lakh hectares suitable land available in the country.
The farmers have been cultivating parija rice on fallow lands adopting new cropping pattern of short duration Aman rice- mustard or potato-mungbean- short duration Aus (parija) rice, evolved by RDRS Bangladesh, to get four crops annually from same land.
