Aman paddy production in Mirsarai upazila, Chattogram, has exceeded its target this season. Farmers in the upazila's 16 unions and two municipalities harvested their paddy about 15 days ago, and many have already sold some at market. The target for aman paddy this season was 89,325 tonnes and production was 90,440 tonnes, which is 1,100 tonnes above the target. The rice target was 59,550 tonnes and production was 60,427 tonnes, 877 tonnes above the target.

According to the upazila agriculture office, aman was grown on 19,850 hectares in the upazila's 16 unions and two municipalities this season. It was grown in Karerhat, Hinguli, Zorarganj, Osmanpur, Ichhakhali, Katachhara, Durgapur, Mirsarai Sadar, Mithanala, Maghadia, Khoiyachhara, Mayani, Haitkandi, Wahedpur and Saherkhali unions, with the largest area, 950 hectares, in Ichhakhali union.

Visits to various markets found farmers selling fine paddy at Tk 1,400 a maund and coarse paddy at Tk 1,280 to 1,300. That works out at Tk 35 a kg for the fine paddy of variety 49 and Tk 30-32 a kg for coarse paddy. Large wholesalers buy paddy here and take it to cities around the country, while many others go from house to house buying paddy from farmers.

Kefayet Ullah, a farmer at Samiti Bazar in Saherkhali union, said: "This time I grew aman on about one acre. The yield has been fairly good. If the rain had come on time and there had been no cyclone, more paddy would have been produced."

Khorshed Alam, a farmer in Madhyam Wahedpur, said: "This time I am selling paddy at Tk 1,400 a maund. But because production is low, I am not making a profit. The price is fine, though, and I won't make a loss either."

The upazila agriculture office said the aman target was exceeded even though the rain did not come on time; had water been available at the right time, more could have been grown. Across the upazila, high-yielding varieties were grown on 16,800 hectares, hybrids on 2,000 hectares and local varieties on 1,050 hectares.

Upazila agriculture officer Pratap Chandra Roy said: "This aman season, paddy production is 1,100 tonnes above target and rice production 877 tonnes above target. Because the rain did not come on time, most land was planted late in the season. Even so, the yield has been very good, and farmers are getting good prices."

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