In Nabinagar upazila, Brahmanbaria, about 150 bighas of land that had long lain fallow were planted with aus rice this season for the first time, at Dolabari in the municipality and in Satmora, Ratanpur and Salimganj unions. Solar-powered irrigation, planning by the agriculture department and farmers' participation made it possible, Desh Rupantor reports.
The technology: a solar irrigation system funded by the FRIP project on the banks of the Titas river uses renewable solar power to pump water and deliver it to fields through high-quality buried pipelines. Upazila agriculture officer Md Jahangir Alam Liton said piping the water has cut waste and reduced farmers' irrigation costs significantly.
At Dolabari, about 75 bighas were planted at once with the aus varieties BRRI dhan98 and BRRI dhan48, and the fields now carry ripe golden ears. Farmer Abdul Mannan said the government solar irrigation scheme gives him water cheaply and, with the agriculture department's help, he grew aus on this scale for the first time and expects a bumper harvest. Farmers received free seed, fertiliser and other inputs under various projects and incentive programmes.
At Chuoria village another 25 bighas came under aus. Satmora union sub-assistant agriculture officer Safurullah said a demonstration of BINA dhan19 on farmer Mannan Mia's land succeeded last season and he kept the seed; this year inputs came through demonstrations and incentives of the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture. Mannan Mia said several other farmers took seed from him.
Municipality block sub-assistant agriculture officer Aktaruzzaman said solar irrigation will allow more fallow land to be brought under aus. The upazila agriculture officer said the aim is to raise food output and farm incomes by spreading short-duration aus on flood-free fallow land after the boro harvest.
Reported by Desh Rupantor's Nabinagar correspondent.
Photo (illustrative): a solar irrigation pump in Bangladesh. Photo: Power Division, Government of Bangladesh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Desh Rupantor
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