Photo: BSS

By Md Mamun Islam 
 
RANGPUR, Oct 26, 2025 (BSS) – Like previous years, farmer laborers are earning well from early harvesting of short-term Aman rice to lead a better life during the ‘seasonal lean season’ of ‘Ashwin’ and ‘Kartik’ months in Rangpur agricultural region.
 
Simultaneously, early harvesting of short-term Aman rice is helping small and marginal farmers to taste new rice and celebrate the 'Nabanna Utsav' in all five districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari in the region.

Previously, an extreme poverty-like situation, locally called ‘Monga’, was being created for lack of agricultural activities during the months of 'Aswin' and 'Kartik', causing untold miseries to the poor and farm-laborers of Rangpur region. 
 
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) officials said that the advance harvesting of short-duration Aman rice will continue till November for the entire lean period in the region.
 
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur agricultural region Krishibid Md Sirajul Islam said early harvest of short duration Aman rice and followed by cultivation of early winter crops on the same land are creating huge jobs for farm-laborers every year. 
 
The DAE has fixed a target of producing 20,10,505 tonnes of clean Aman rice (30,15,757 tonnes in terms of paddy) from 6,20,430 hectares of land for the region.
 
“The enthusiastic farmers have finally cultivated Aman rice on 6,21,505 hectares of land, 100.17 percent of the targeted land area,” he said.
 
Of them, farmers have cultivated short duration varieties of Aman rice on over 62,000 hectares of land in the region.
   
Meanwhile, farmers have already harvested short duration Aman rice on about 2,500 hectares of land and got an average yield rate of 3.24 tonnes of clean Aman rice (4.86 tonnes of paddy) per hectare of land.
  
“In addition to harvesting short-term Aman rice, farmers are cultivating early varieties of potatoes, mustard, vegetables and other winter crops on the same land to generate more profits along with creating huge jobs for farm-laborers,” Krishibid Islam added. 
  
Independence Award 2018 Medal (food security) winner Dr MA Mazid said the government started expanded cultivation of short duration Aman rice from 2006 to create jobs for poor farm-laborers through early harvest during the ‘lean period’.
 
The DAE, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and other organizations put maximum efforts on expanding short-duration Aman rice farming in 2006 to eliminate the seasonal unemployment situation from the region.
   
Early harvest of short duration Aman rice followed by cultivation of subsequent winter crops on the same land till November creates huge jobs for farm-labourers relieving them from poverty.
 
“As a result of large-scale cultivation of short duration Aman rice, the 'Monga'-like situation during the ‘lean periods’ of 'Aswin' and 'Kartik' months, has been eliminated from the region,” Dr Mazid added.
 
Local farmers said they have mostly cultivated short duration rice varieties like BRRI dhan 90, BRRI dhan 95, BRRI dhan75, BRRI dhan71, BINA dhan17, BINA dhan16 and hybrid Hira-2, Hira-10 and Dhani Gold varieties of rice on croplands this season.
   
Farmers Ariful Haque, Solaiman Ali, Latifur Rahman, Mokhlesur Rahman and Abu Bakar of different villages in Sadar and Pirganj upazilas of Rangpur said they have already harvested short duration Aman rice and got excellent yield.
 
They are happy getting excellent market prices of newly harvested Aman paddy between Taka 1,250 and Taka 1,300 per mound (every 40 kilograms). 
 
“In addition to meeting our food needs with newly harvested rice, we are using raw rice straw as livestock feed. We are also earning a good income by selling raw rice straw as livestock feed at an affordable price,” said farmer Ariful Haque.