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Bangladesh is set to surpass the production target of Aman,
the country's second major rice variety, this year. Officials say the yield of
the country's staple crops could be about 20 percent higher than expected.
A Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) spokesperson
said, "We expect Aman production this year to be 15 to 20 percent higher
than the projected production."
Mohammad Abduhu, Additional Director of DAE's Field Service,
said that Aman's yield could now be more than 170 million tons against the
estimated 163 million tons.
His comments came at a time when this major crop is being
harvested across 59 lakh hectares of land across the country. Meanwhile, the
farmers are expecting the harvest to be completed within the next 45 days.
DAE officials indicated that 18 percent of the crop has been collected so far. The Aman crop accounts for 38 percent of the total rice production and is second only to Boro.
According to Abduhu and his colleagues at DAE, substantial
rainfall in late autumn contributed to the increase in yield, contrary to fears
that cyclone Aman could affect production.
He said the production target per hectare was higher than in the last two years. "But in the end product seems to have exceeded even
the increased target."
Former DAE’s Director General Abdul Mueed said they were
concerned about Aman production due to a drought-like situation in the past
months, which could lead to a fungal infection. But the rain eventually
prevented such a situation.
"It (Cyclone Sitrang) has come rather as a blessing,"
he said.
According to official statistics, the overall Aman area
coverage this year was more than 59.06 lakh hectares, while it was not more
than 57.20 lakh and 56.25 lakh hectares in the last two years respectively.
According to the FAO report, Bangladesh was in third
place, maintaining the continuity of rice production at 37.4 million tons in
2020 and 37.8 million tons in 2021.
Source:
Online/SZK
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