Dinajpur has had a bumper aus paddy yield this season. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) sees the prospect of 30,000 tonnes of rice from aus paddy grown on 10,000 hectares, and farmers also hope to get good prices.

The Dinajpur DAE hopes that, having received seed, fertiliser, pesticide and supervision under the agricultural incentive programme, farmers will be keen to grow aus on more land in future.

In Kalikapur village of Sundarban union in Sadar upazila, 60 farmers grew aus on 60 bighas under the DAE's incentive programme to expand aus cultivation. The agriculture department gave all of them seed, fertiliser and pesticide, and the variety grown is BRRI dhan98.

Md Abdul Matin, the sub-assistant agriculture officer in charge of the Kalikapur block, said the aus yield was a bumper one this year and would exceed 6 to 7 tonnes of paddy per hectare.

Abdul Aziz, a farmer in the Kalikapur block, said he grew aus on 65 decimals this season. The agriculture department supervised everything from sowing seed and transplanting seedlings to harvesting. The yield has been very good and he hopes for a good price.

Siraj Uddin said he got a good yield by growing an improved aus variety on the department's advice and with its seed. After the bumper harvest, he will grow more aus next year.

Jamir Hossain, a farmer in the same area, said most farmers had a good aus yield this time and were very happy, and aus cultivation would increase.

Farmer Mansur Ali said aus used not to yield much, but farmers have profited from improved varieties. This season in particular, farmers got good yields from the improved aus varieties BRRI dhan98 and BRRI dhan48.

Nuruzzaman, deputy director of the DAE's Dinajpur Khamarbari office, said 10,490 hectares were under aus this season, and 30,000 tonnes of rice are expected from Dinajpur's aus paddy. Aus on about 500 hectares has been harvested. To determine the yield, a sample crop cutting will be held in the Kalikapur block of Sadar upazila on Sunday.

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