Experts at a crop cutting ceremony here yesterday stressed for popularising and enhancing Aus cultivation, mostly using rain water, under changed climatic conditions to attain food security.They put special emphasis on gradually replacing more water consuming Boro paddy farming with other winter crops for attaining food security side by side reducing lifting of underground waters to improve environment, ecology and bio-diversity.The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) organised the occasion at a farmers’ field day to harvest BRRI Dhan 48 variety Aus paddy in the field of farmer Ekramul Haque in village Fotehpur Tularam under Pirganj upazila.The programme was arranged with a view to expand cultivation of modern Aus variety paddies under Integrated Agriculture Productivity Project (IAPP) with Pirganj Upazila Agriculture Officer Rezaul Karim in the chair.Deputy Director of the DAE Feroz Ahmed attended and addressed the occasion as the chief guest and inaugurated harvest of BRRI Dhan 48 variety Aus paddy.Agriculture Extension Officer of the DAE Sarker Ekhlas Hossain, Sub-assistant Agriculture Officers and local farmers addressed the ceremony also participated by members of the local Livelihoods Farmers School, public representatives and local elite.After harvesting the Aus paddy in presence of over 200 male and female farmers, farmer Ekramul Haque got 4.5 tonnes per hectare yield rate of high yielding variety BRRI Dhan 48 Aus paddy.The speakers asked all concerned for disseminating the latest technologies among farmers for enhancing Aus cultivation during the off-season between late May and early August to gradually reduce costly Boro cultivation that requires huge irrigation waters.The chief guest said the present government has taken various steps for enhancing cultivation of eco-friendly and short duration variety Aus paddies like BRRI Dhan 26, BRRI Dhan 48 and BRRI Dhan 55 using the technologies.Cultivation of short duration (100-110 days) Aus paddies requires only 4 to 5 irrigations to get yield rates up to 4.5 to 5 tonnes paddy per hectare after harvest when Boro farming requires at least 20-30 times irrigations, he added.He suggested the farmers for increasing cultivation of Aus paddies, mostly using unused seasonal rain waters, during the off season as an additional substitute cereal crop to costly Boro farming without hampering transplanted Aman cultivation. -BSS, Rangpur’
