Saimon Molla, a farmer in Birchandrapur village of Dakshin union in Akhaura, Brahmanbaria, has planted black rice on two bigha of land as a trial. Dark ears now sway among the green paddy, and the unusual crop beside the familiar golden rice is drawing curious neighbours.
Saimon says he has loved growing rice since childhood and has long farmed the conventional way. He learned about black rice recently from YouTube videos on his phone. This season he bought seed at Tk 500 a kilo, prepared a seedbed and the land, transplanted the seedlings and has tended them since; the ears have now emerged.
He hopes for 16 to 18 maunds of paddy a bigha. If the yield is good and he gets a fair price, he told BSS, he will put more land under black rice next season. His trial has stirred interest among other farmers nearby.
Akhaura upazila agriculture officer Masud Rana said black rice is a special, nutrient-rich variety. Alongside the seasonal crops, it has been grown on a limited area as a trial, and the farmer is getting the support he needs for a good harvest.
According to the agriculture department, black rice grains range from deep purple to black because of a natural pigment called anthocyanin. It sells for far more than ordinary rice, at Tk 250 to Tk 1,000 a kilo. Five to seven kinds of black rice are grown in Cumilla, Naogaon, Chattogram, Thakurgaon and other districts, and the area grows every year.
The report is by BSS's Brahmanbaria correspondent Md Shafiqul Islam.
Photo: Koba-chan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Source: BSS
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