Impact of short duration and high yielding aman rice varieties in Manga areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

„Manga‟, a near-famine situation which hits the northern region of Bangladesh every year, has forced poor people either to borrow money from usurers at an excessively high interest rate or to sell their labor in advance at an unusually low rate to keep their families from starvation. Many people sell their meager produce of aman crops well before harvesting to tide them over during the acute shortage of employment and food. The five districts of the northern region of Bangladesh that are most affected by manga are Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, and Rangpur. Other locations significantly affected are the areas cultivated with rice variety Binadhan-7, which is grown for its low crop duration of 110-120 days and for its average yield of 4.07 t/ha. These characteristics are similar to those of local rice varieties Sarna (4.29 t/ha) and BR-11 (4.29 t/ha). Early maturing rice varieties, which are harvested during aman, facilitate rabi crop cultivation (winter crops). These crops include potato, mustard, and wheat among others. The cultivation of early maturing varieties also allows for the engagement of farm laborers in harvesting and processing activities during the manga period of October and November.