Farmers in Bhairab are busy growing transplanted (ropa) aman rice as an extra crop at the end of this year's monsoon. More ropa aman than targeted has been planted in the upazila's seven unions this year, and farmers are spending their days tending the planted fields.

One kani (20 decimals) of ropa aman yields 18 to 20 maunds of paddy, and the harvest comes in 90 days. With demand for this rice in the market, prices are also good, so farmers' interest in growing it is rising.

In five villages of Gazaria union in Bhairab upazila, ropa aman has been planted on several thousand decimals of land. Ignoring the scorching sun, some farmers were applying pesticide, some fertiliser, and others were busy weeding.

With rice prices high and demand for this paddy strong, farmers in the area hope to profit from it, and so more and more are turning to it. The agriculture office says that because this rice gives a higher yield at low cost in a short time and fetches a good price, its yield is increasing with the office's all-round support.

Local farmer Yusuf Mia said that at this time of year, at the end of the monsoon, the land used to be sown with mashkalai and mustard, with rice grown on only some of it. But this year the monsoon water receded quickly, so they planted ropa aman on that land. He said that if the weather stays favourable they will be able to bring it home as a bonus crop at this time of year.

As every year, Bachhir Bhuiyan, a farmer of Sadekpur village in the upazila, has planted ropa aman on ten acres. "Every year I grow ropa aman at the end of the monsoon, because it costs little and I can bring home paddy as an extra crop in a short time," he said. He hopes the crop will turn out as expected if the weather holds.

Hasim Uddin Bhuiyan, another farmer of Sadekpur village, said they used to grow mustard or other crops on this land, which cost more to produce. This year he has planted ropa aman there. So far there has been no real problem in the planted fields, but he is applying pesticide so that no disease or pests take hold.

Bhairab upazila agriculture officer Md Aklima Begum said the ropa aman target this year was 2,230 hectares, but 2,270 hectares were achieved. With favourable weather this year, Bhairab's farmers have become keen to grow ropa aman as an extra crop. Boro is the main crop farmers grow in Bhairab, and interest in growing ropa aman rather than leaving land fallow at this time of year is rising.

She said ropa aman and mustard growers now receive government incentives for extra crops, and the office's field staff give constant support to prevent disease attacks. The agriculture department also gives constant advice on how farmers can produce more on their land, she said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.