RAJSHAHI: Many farmers are being benefited through cultivating aman paddy on jute field in relay cropping system in the region for the last couple of years. The cropping system has started gaining ground among farmers as it doesn’t require additional paddling for sowing paddy seed, reports BSS.
Agricultural extension officials, scientists and researchers made these observations while addressing a farmers gathering on jute-rice relay cropping at Mirkamari village under Charghat of the district on Wednesday. Regional office of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) organised the programme in order to encourage more other farmers towards the relay cropping for boosting paddy yield through resource conservation.
Additional Director of Department of Agriculture Extension Fazlur Rahman and Chief Scientific Officer of BRRI Dr Mostofa Kamal addressed the meeting as chief and special guests respectively with BRRI Chief Scientific Officer Dr Rafiqul Islam in the chair.
Agriculturist Fazlur Rahman said time has come to wide-ranging and sustainable expansion and adoption of conservation agriculture system to protect the soil health from further degradation.
Principles of conservation agriculture are use of reduced tillage, retention of some amounts of residues on the field, sustainable and profitable crop diversification and its rotation and judicious use of natural resources.
In present context of climate change especially unpredictable rainfall, unusual drought and other natural calamities, this technology can help the farmers utilizing the minimum amount of water for crop establishment like avoiding paddling operation, he added.
Demand of food production is gradually increasing to feed the huge number population and more pressures are coming on per-unit cultivable land. To this end, the new and updated technology is capable to enhance production and productivity in cost-effective way.