The Agriculture Department has taken a new initiative to expand early Boro paddy cultivation in Moulvibazar to reduce risks from flash floods and natural disasters in haor areas.
Under the initiative, 700 demo plots of BRRI dhan-118, a newly developed, cold-tolerant Boro rice variety by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), will be set up experimentally across the district’s seven upazilas during the next cultivation season.
Agriculture officials said the variety is cold-tolerant and short-duration, allowing farmers to transplant it in the first week of November and harvest it by early March.
Officials hope the initiative will significantly reduce the risk of crop damage from early floods and adverse weather in haor regions.
According to Agriculture Department sources, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute is providing overall support for the project, while the Department of Agricultural Extension will implement it. A total of 100 demo plots will be established in each upazila of the district. Farmers will also receive field-level training, seeds and technical support.
Agriculture officials said haor areas have suffered major losses of Boro paddy in recent years due to flash floods and adverse weather conditions. Farmers face heavy losses when floodwater enters fields before the paddy matures. In this situation, the department has given importance to short-duration and early-harvest paddy varieties.
BRRI dhan-118 has been developed specially for farmers in haor regions. As the variety is tolerant to cold during the reproductive stage, early sowing does not result in sterile grains. Officials said farmers can get at least six tonnes of yield per hectare if sowing takes place between 25 October and 1 November.
If sown during the normal period between 15 and 20 November, the variety can produce between 6.9 tonnes and 8.5 tonnes per hectare within 145 days.
The rice grain is medium-bold, while the cooked rice remains white and non-sticky. The rice contains 28.3 percent amylose and 9.1 percent protein.
Agricultural research found that the variety produced around 22.83 percent higher yield than the widely cultivated BRRI dhan-28 in 10 regions across the country.
District Agricultural Extension Officer Md Jalal Uddin said, “BRRI dhan-118 is cold-tolerant, making it possible to sow seeds in the first week of November and harvest paddy by early March.”
“This will significantly reduce the risk of natural disasters,” he said.
He added that demo plots would play an important role in creating interest among farmers about the new variety.
“If the field-level yield remains satisfactory, cultivation of the variety will be expanded further in the future,” he further noted.
The Agriculture Department said expansion of early paddy cultivation will not only reduce production risks but also create opportunities for growing additional crops on the same land.
Officials said timely harvesting would also allow farmers more time to cultivate crops in the following season.
Local farmers said interest in early paddy varieties is increasing due to uncertainty in weather patterns. Farmers in haor and low-lying areas especially prefer varieties that can be harvested quickly.
Agriculture officials believe the initiative could create new possibilities in Boro cultivation management in the district if it proves successful.
