Agri-experts and scientists at a farmers’ field day here yesterday afternoon said mechanization and adoption of the latest agri-technologies could increase 20 percent crop production at lower cost and time.
Usage of the latest conservation agriculture technologies can help reducing overall crop farming duration by 40 to 45 days with an increased yield side by side with improving soil health, they said.
RDRS organised the field day with the financial assistance of Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) under sustainable intensification of Rice-Maize farming method at village Taluk Habu under Gangachara upazila here.
The field day was arranged in the crop fields of farmers Alamgir Hossain and Feroza Begum with local elite Alhaj Abdus Sattar in the chair and 260 farmers including females from all over the country took part.
Deputy director of DAE, Rangpur Hasanur Rahman was the chief guest and Project Leader of Rice-Maize Project of ACIAR Dr Jagdish Timsina, DAE’s Training Officer Aminul Islam and RDRS expert Marufuzzman attended as the special guests.
Chief Scientific Officer (PSO) of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), Rangpur Dr Abdul Monnaf, Joint Director of BARD in Comilla Dr Abul Kalam Azad, Senior Scientific Officer of BARI, Comilla Dr Nazrul Islam, addressed.
Farmers Abul Hossain of Comilla, Mostafizur Rahman of Mithapukur, Feroza Begum and Alamgir Hossain of Gangachara narrated the tremendous benefits they achieved using the conservation agriculture and resources conservation technologies.
The chief guest said the farmers have been getting 20 percent more production including rice, maize and other subsequent crops in shorter periods through using power tiller operated seeding and the latest technologies at lower costs.
The experts, scientists and farmers said huge quantities of irrigation water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are being saved and farming periods of the crops being reduced significantly increasing profits using the technologies at the field levels.
They urged for quicker dissemination of the conservation agriculture technologies among the farmers of the country for increasing crop production.
Oct 21 (BSS)
