High-yielding varieties can boost rise output by 32 lakh tonnes by FY25

Annual rice production can increase another 32.36 lakh tonnes by the fiscal 2024-25, if high-yielding and hybrid varieties of paddy can be used to replace conventional varieties, such as Boro, Aman, and Aush being grown now.

"If BRRI-28, BRRI-29 paddy, which have been cultivated for more than two decades, are replaced with high-yielding varieties like BRRI-89, BRRI-92, BRRI hybrid-5, productivity will increase from 4 tonnes per hectare to 4.6 tonnes by FY25," said Habibur Rahman Chowdhury, director Field Service Wing of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), at a workshop yesterday.

Adopting such strategies, total Boro production can increase another 14.38 lakh tonnes.

Similarly, the productivity of Aman paddy per hectare can increase from 2.95 tonnes to 3.44 tonnes simply by changing the varieties grown. This would increase total annual Aman production another 14.63 lakh tonnes. Doing the same in the Aush season, paddy output can increase 3.62 lakh tonnes, said Habibur Rahman Chowdhury, in a paper presented at the programme.

Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) organised the programme on "Inclusion of oilseeds in conventional crop distribution systems and increasing production of high-yielding varieties of paddy crops", at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium, in association with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the country produced 3.76 crore tonnes of rice in FY21.

At the programme, Dr Md Ibrahim, principal scientific officer of BRRI, said, "In order to increase paddy production, first we have to try replacing the conventional varieties with high-yielding varieties. We also have to develop our production system, bring unused land under cultivation, and change conventional crop distribution to increase production."

"We have to research how to shorten crop cycles, and must discover crops that can be cultivated alongside another, and between two crops. Adopting such practices should be promoted among farmers across the country," he added.

Agriculturalists attending the programme also focused on increasing the production of various oilseed crops including mustard, groundnut, sunflower, sesame, and soybean.

Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said, "We have good varieties of mustard, but we still spend $2 billion every year to import other edible oil. It takes 7-10 years to popularise a new variety at the ground level. We have to get out of this situation and better varieties of mustard must reach the fields quickly."

He said, "Currently, 90% of the demand for edible oil has to be met by imports. We want to bring it down to 40-50%."

Regarding the increase in the price of rice, the agriculture minister said, "The price of rice in the country has definitely increased. When the price of wheat increases, people eat more rice. Consequently, the price of rice increases.

"Besides, we also have to feed the Rohingyas, while Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war are also putting pressure on the economy. People are suffering due to the price increase of rice, but there is no shortage of food in the country."