A farmer in Narail's Kalia upazila has found success growing black rice after watching videos on YouTube. Rahmat Ali of Joka village in Salamabad union bought one kilogram of black rice seed online from the north of the country and began growing it on a trial basis. He cultivated it on 10 decimals of land in the same way as ordinary paddy, at a total cost of about Tk 4,000 to 4,500, the same as ordinary paddy. The unusual venture has drawn wide interest among local farmers.
Rahmat Ali said: "I was inspired to grow black rice by watching YouTube and various farming channels. Then I contacted the upazila agriculture officer and sub-assistant agriculture officers and took the advice I needed. After that I bought black rice seed online from the north and started growing it. The yield has been very good."
He said: "Black rice is full of nutrients and very good for health. That is why I became interested in growing it. Many local farmers have shown interest. They want to take seed from me and start growing black rice."
Four to five times the price of ordinary paddy
Upazila agricultural extension officer Md Jahangir Alam inspected the field and said the 10 decimals could produce about 5 to 5.5 maunds of paddy. Black rice paddy sells for Tk 4,500 to 5,500 a maund, four to five times the price of ordinary paddy. Those involved believe this creates the prospect of a good profit from a small plot.
After news of Rahmat Ali's success spread, farmers from surrounding areas have been crowding to see his field, and many are showing interest in growing black rice.
One local farmer said: "I heard that black rice has been grown here, so I came to see. I have some idea about it and I want to grow it too. I will take seed from here and grow black rice in future."
The upazila agriculture department said there are plans to collect seed from Rahmat Ali's harvest and expand cultivation of this new paddy in the area.
According to nutritionists, "Black rice is not only a high-value crop but also important as a healthy food. It contains powerful antioxidants, especially anthocyanin, which protects the body's cells from damage and boosts immunity."
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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