New paddy has started reaching farmers' homes in Nandigram upazila of Bogura at the very start of the month of Kartik. Farmers are pleased because both yields and prices are good. Rather than leave land fallow, they say, they grow an early crop, harvest it and then plant rabi crops such as potato or mustard on the same land. Harvesting will begin in earnest in the upazila from the start of the month of Agrahayan.

Early varieties BINA-7 and BINA-17 and Minicate paddy are the most widely grown in Nandigram upazila. Because the paddy can be harvested within 100 to 110 days of transplanting, farmers in the area have grown these varieties for the past six years, and Minicate has been grown for a long time. As the grains of BINA-7 and Minicate are fine, their rice is in great demand. A tour of the upazila's fields found paddy ripening on 25 per cent of the land. With little field work in the area during Kartik there is no labour shortage, so farmers are cutting the ripe paddy and taking it home.

Farmer Shahidul Islam of Purbapara village in Nandigram municipality said BINA-7 and Katari varieties had been grown on 30 bighas. Seedlings transplanted in the last week of Ashar are being harvested at the start of Kartik. Cultivation cost Tk 8,000 per bigha.

Rezaul Hossain, a farmer of Kalikapur village, said he had grown BINA-17, BINA-7 and Minicate. After the harvest, rabi crops potato and mustard will be planted on the land. New paddy of the early varieties has started arriving at the upazila's markets, which are known for rice growing, and is selling at Tk 1,050 to 980 a maund.

Nandigram upazila agriculture officer Adnan Babu said the Aman season has produced a good yield this time. Aman has been grown on 19,380 hectares in the upazila, of which early varieties BINA-7 and Minicate were grown on 2,465 hectares.

Source: Kaler Kantho. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.