Seven and a half thousand farmers in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia received free rice and jute seed and chemical fertiliser under an incentive programme to boost Aus rice and jute production.
Farmer Sentu Chandra Hajong of Sherpur has bred 23 new local rice varieties over 17 years of research at home, and hundreds of farmers now grow them.
The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute has told farmers how to control rice pests that may multiply as nor'wester storms and rain raise temperature and humidity.
The Agriculture Information Service has set out steps farmers should take to control blast, a fungal disease that can wipe out a rice crop in favourable weather.
A project to rehabilitate the Meghna-Dhonagoda irrigation scheme in Chandpur's Matlab (North) will bring 6,700 hectares under irrigation and add 11,471 tonnes of rice a year.
Five months without rain have dried up rivers and haors in Moulvibazar, leaving Boro rice fields cracked and farmers with no water to irrigate.
Water in the Chhoto Jamuna and other rivers of Naogaon has fallen ahead of time, worrying Boro farmers and pushing fishermen into other jobs.
Crop protection embankment work in Sunamganj's haors has missed its extended deadline, and farmers fear early floods will wreck their only Boro crop again.
Drought, heat and empty canals are burning Boro rice in Feni's Sonagazi, where farmers say repeated written appeals for water have brought no remedy.
With no rain for five months, farmers in Lalmonirhat's five upazilas are paying extra to irrigate maize, Boro rice and vegetables and fear losses.
Boro paddy land in Habiganj's haors is cracking and seedlings are turning red for want of irrigation water, leaving farmers despairing.
Using the latest technology, BRRI's Transforming Rice Breeding project is cutting the time to develop a rice variety from 10 to 15 years to 8 to 10 years.
Combine harvesters cut rice on 642,000 hectares in the last Aman season, saving farmers about Tk 1,119.41 crore in costs and avoided grain losses, according to DAE.
