TDS Desk

The government is expecting optimum aman production this year despite nearly 10 percent damage from total target due to frequent floods in August-September this year.

The agriculture extension services in a report today said so far yielding of 1.46 crore metric tons of aman has been harvested which is 77 percent of total aman production this year. Total yield would be much more than the target of 1.78 crore metric tons this year after total harvest of the rain-fed crop.

Highest average per unit production and excessive rainfall after the floods helped increase the overall aman production in the country, according to the agricultural extension officials.

“We are expecting surplus aman production this year as excessive yield compare to the last year along with climatic support would help to cross the aman production target”, said Agriculture Secretary Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian.

“Farmers were also conscious and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) along with the ministry had a comprehensive plan to overcome the loss of aman production due to flood,” said the secretary.

The average per hectare yield trend which crossed 3.2 to 3.3 metric tons ultimately helped raising the overall production this year against below 3 metric tons last year.

The extension officials attributed the excessive rainfall to huge productivity of the aman particularly in country’s northern and central regions.

In high land, the yield of certain aman varieties like BRRI-78, BRRIdhan 79 crossed 20 to 22 maund (38.37 kg) per bigha this year while it was 6.50 to 7 maund in low land areas, said SM Aiyub Ali, a farmer of Dharabarisha under Gurudashpur upazila of Natore district.

Nazmul Huda, a farmer of Mymensingh region said they also got surplus production this year. Average yield on high land was 3 to 3.5 maund in every katha (6.5 decimal) of land and it was 4 to 4.5 maund in low land while it was only 2-2.5 maund last year, he said.

Due to surplus aman output, this year’s devastating floods could not have any negative impact on the national aman production, said Dr Abu Zafur Munsur, Deputy Director (Monitoring) of DAE.

First flash floods in August had serious devastation in crops production in 23 districts while the second deluge in late September left 4.78 lakh hectares paddy land in 13 districts under water for long time causing huge damage to the crop.

The floods in 35 districts damaged aman production over 10,70,000 metric tons which is around 9.81 per cent of total target, DAE source said.

The government set a target to produce 1.78 crore metric tons of aman rice from 56.62 lakh hectares of land this year while last year total aman production was 1.36 crore metric tons against the target of 1.71 crore metric tons.