Huge quantity of Aman, Boro gets wasted a year
An estimated quantity of 1.26 million tonnes of Aman and Boro paddy gets wasted every year in the country, especially during the post-harvest stage.
Findings of a research of the Rural Development Academy (RDA) Bogra show that the loss is 5.18 percent of the total production of the two main crops, said RDA Joint Director AKM Zakaria.
He, however, said, "The post-harvest loss of Aus paddy is much more higher than those of Aman and Boro because of frequent rain."
Earlier in 1981, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) conducted a similar study in four villages of Comilla and Tangail where the loss was calculated at 7 percent of the total production, said Zakaria.
The RDA conducted the recent research with the assistance of farmers of Maria village of Shajahanpur upazila and Bisha village of Kahaloo upazila in Bogra in 2004-2005. The report of the research is ready for publishing, Zakaria added.
Zakaria told The Daily Star that field stacking, bundling and transporting of crops, and threshing and cleaning are the main causes of this loss, which was 5.68 percent in 2004 and 4.67 percent in 2005. The average loss of Aman and Boro grains in those two years was 5.18 percent.
The findings of the "farm level post-harvest rice loss assessment" project show that 1.66 percent loss occurred during threshing, cleaning and drying while 0.80 percent loss occurred before reaping.
To reduce the loss, the RDA research suggests that farmers take initiatives like adopting high yielding varieties, threshing manually using a drum or wood block and a wide threshing mat, and maintaining appropriate harvesting time.
According to a report of the World Food Programme, if farmers harvest one week before the paddy gets mature, production might be 0.37 percent less than the estimation while it is likely to be 3.63 percent less if harvested one week after the paddy gets mature. The loss may be 0.45 percent if harvested even on the date the crop gets mature.
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