Photo : BSS

RANGPUR, Sept 8, 2026 (BSS) - Farmers in the Rangpur agricultural region produced 1,66,380 tonnes of clean Aush rice, equivalent to 2,49,570 tonnes of paddy, during the just-ended Kharif-1 season, despite falling short of its cultivation target.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers have almost completed transplanting Aman rice seedlings on the same land after harvesting Aush rice last week.

Earlier, the DAE had set a target of producing 1,76,655 tonnes of clean Aush rice, equivalent to 2,64,982 tonnes of paddy, from 58,300 hectares of land in the region comprising Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts.

"However, farmers finally cultivated Aush rice on 55,270 hectares of land, which is 3,030 hectares less than the fixed cultivation target," Additional Director of the DAE in Rangpur region Krishibid Md Saiful Islam told BSS today.

He said farmers could not achieve the cultivation target mainly due to crop diversification and increased cultivation of maize, vegetables and other crops on more land across the five districts.

Despite the shortfall in acreage, farmers produced 1,66,380 tonnes of clean Aush rice at an average yield of 3.01 tonnes per hectare, he said.

"Farmers are showing keen interest in cultivating Aush rice as an additional crop in recent years during the off-season after harvesting Boro rice and before transplanting Aman rice seedlings on the same land to increase rice production," Saiful Islam said.

He said various pragmatic steps taken by the government are encouraging farmers to increase Aush cultivation and production to ensure food security amid the adverse impacts of climate change.

The measures include distributing special incentives comprising high-yielding variety seeds and fertilisers among small and marginal farmers, conducting motivational campaigns, and providing training and technical support.

According to DAE data, farmers produced 1,84,603 tonnes of clean Aush rice from 61,163 hectares of land in 2025 and 1,84,617 tonnes from 61,782 hectares in 2024.

They produced 1,84,600 tonnes of clean Aush rice from 61,782 hectares in 2023 and 1,78,777 tonnes from 63,680 hectares in 2022 in the region.

Former Chief Scientific Officer of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Dr MA Mazid, a recipient of the Independence Award-2018 for his contribution to food security, lauded the government initiatives to promote Aush rice cultivation, which requires less irrigation water.

"Enthusiastic farmers are cultivating Aush rice as an additional crop by utilising unused rainwater during the off-season in April, May and June, when croplands mostly remain fallow, thereby increasing rice production to help attain food security," he said.

After harvesting Boro rice, farmers can easily use the same arable land to produce three rice crops a year by cultivating Aush followed by Aman rice, he said.

"This practice is contributing to ensuring national food security amid the changing climate," Mazid added.

He advised farmers to increase Aush cultivation and production by utilising unused rainwater during the off-season between Boro rice harvesting and Aman rice cultivation, when much of the cropland remains fallow.

Talking to BSS, farmers from different villages in Rangpur, including Fazlar Rahman, Muhibbul Hossain, Ishaq Ali and Mostafizur Rahman, expressed satisfaction over the excellent yield of Aush rice and its current market price.