Aloron yield makes farmers happy
Patuakhali farmers are happy as cultivation of hybrid Aloron paddy is bringing them three to four times more production than the local variety.
The high yielding variety has been introduced as the government in cooperation with NGO Brac took a programme titled 'Crop Intensification for Achieving Food Sufficiency in the Coastal Region of Bangladesh'.
The two-year project from January 2010 to December 2011 aims at helping people of the southern region recover from the serious damage caused by cyclones Sidr and Aila.
"I cultivated hybrid Aloron paddy for the first time on my one acre of land and got 95 maunds as yield. But we get only 25/30 maunds of paddy from the local variety," said Abdur Rashid Mridha, 57, of Shialy village under Sadar upazila.
Delwar Hossain, 55, and Awal, 45, both of Pashchim Hetalia village, said they will cultivate Aloron paddy on their land regularly as production of this hybrid variety is very high.
Under the special programme, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) provides technical support while Brac provides financial help to the farmers.
"Fourteen hundred and ninety-seven acres of land in 42 blocks in Sadar, Mirzaganj and Kalapara upazilas in Patuakhali district was brought under the programme this year. The number of beneficiary farmers is 2183," Jahangir Kabir, area manager of Brac, said.
The programme has already got good response from local farmers, he added.
DAE Deputy Director AZM Momtazul Karim said more and more local farmers are opting for the hybrid variety as it brings very high yield.
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