According to agricultural science, 3,500 liters of water is required to grow one kilogramme of paddy as irrigation whereas seven bighas of wheat could be cultivated with the same amount of water as irrigation. Where groundwater table is low, in the Barind region for example, cultivating wheat is more practical than rice. The agricultural conditions in the country are fast changing and in the newer setting, farmers need to know how best they can grow crops according to the relative climactic condition with little harm to our resources.

With this goal in mind, a daylong farmers’ training programme titled “Production of Quality Wheat and Paddy Seed and Cultivation of Less Water Consuming Crops” was arranged by Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) at Naogaon recently. This training of farmers is time befitting and the agriculture ministry is well advised to take up a broad plan for training the farmers all across the country.

Not all farmers need the same training. For example, in Naogaon farmers were given motivation and technical knowhow on how to cultivate more water-saving crops to lessen the existing pressure on groundwater. The agriculture experts are of the opinion that there is no alternative to encouraging the farmers to promote various cereal crops and vegetables instead of only Irri-boro paddy on the dried land of the region. As the groundwater table has gradually been declining, an acute case of water stress condition is being created.

The different is true for the low lying areas of the country where floods water remain for a long time and how best they can grow water-resistant crops. Last year, the overall rice production was severely hampered in the Haor region of Sylhet and other places as paddy plants remained under floodwater for a long time.

Still, in the salinity-prone southern region of the country, a different approach is necessary for maximizing harvest of crops. Apart from training on cultivating salinity resistant rice varieties, farmers there could be given practical knowledge how to make best use of their land where rice and other cereals could not be adequately produced.

Moreover, many farmers in our country still rely on the conventional way of farming in these days of superior agricultural science. Still, there are farmers who do not know how to use different kinds of fertilizers, which if not used proportionately, can be dangerous. For improving the country’s agriculture, therefore, the need for transfer of right kinds of knowledge and farmers’ training can hardly be overemphasized.