At Kashtadob field in Badalgachhi upazila, Naogaon, Babu, a smallholder sharecropper from Donail village, is expecting a good harvest from the rice variety Sentu Paijam-21. He has grown it on 13 bighas of rented land, hoping for a bigger yield at a lower cost than the usual varieties.
Babu says the yield looks about the same on every plot, better than anything he has had before, and he expects at least 28 maunds a bigha. Many farmers have asked for seed before the crop is even cut, and after a video of his field spread on Facebook, people have been phoning from other areas to ask about it.
The seed came from Farid Hossain of Begunjoar village. Farid says he learned about the variety online last year and brought 5 kg of seed from Kamrangirchar. A trial on two bighas gave him 28 maunds a bigha, and on that experience he gave Babu seed this year and advised him through the season.
According to the upazila agriculture office, transplanted aman covers 14,640 hectares in Badalgachhi this season, of which about 2 hectares are under Sentu Paijam-21.
Upazila agriculture officer Mehedi Hasan says Sentu Paijam-21 is a high-yielding variety, bred by a man named Sentu Hajam by crossing local Paijam with Ranjit rice. He says Babu has caused a stir in the area and should make a profit.
Photo: SyedAminul / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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