Record yield of Aman rice in Tetulia: Smiles on farmers' faces, joy of Pitha festival

This year, Tetulia upazila of Panchagarh has witnessed a bumper yield of Aman rice. Field after field is covered with golden rice, the sweet aroma of ripe rice is floating in the air. Farmers are smiling.

According to the 2011 population, about 1 lakh 25 thousand 454 people live in this agriculturally dependent region bordering on three sides of Tetulia upazila. The total arable land area is about 36 thousand 162 acres. Paddy, jute, sugarcane, tea and stone are the main cash crops here. In addition, the area of ​​forest land is about 76 thousand 665 acres.

Due to the favorable weather during the current Aman season and the absence of floods or natural disasters, there has been a bumper yield of rice across the fields of Tetulia this year. According to the Upazila Agriculture Extension Department, a total of 13,925 hectares of Aman rice has been cultivated this season. Of this, local Ufshi, hybrid and fragrant varieties of rice have been cultivated.

Paddy harvesting and threshing have already started in some places. Pitha festival has also started in rural areas. Farmers are also selling paddy husks as cow fodder. Early variety paddy is being harvested in full swing, and the remaining paddy in the fields is also waiting to be brought home in 8-10 days.

Upazila Agriculture Officer, Agriculturist Sabrina Afrin said, “This year, there has been a bumper yield of paddy due to favorable weather conditions. Farmers have been made aware at the field level so that the crop can be protected from insect and spider attacks. So far, 100 percent target has been achieved.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Officer of the Upazila Agriculture Department, Faruk Ahmed, said, “In the current season, marginal farmers are leaning towards cultivating Ufshi and hybrid varieties of rice. The yield has been very good.”

Farmers Md. Hafizul Islam and Md. Tota Mia of Demgoch and Pithakhawa villages of Tirnoi Union in Tetulia said that they have cultivated Aman rice on two bighas and 50 hundredths of land. They have received an average of 30 maunds of rice per bigha. According to them, “such a yield has not been seen in the last few years.”

Farmers in the Upazila are now busy harvesting rice. There is an atmosphere of laughter and happiness across the fields, and the sweet aroma of ripe rice is in the air.

Khademul Islam, Tetulia