FARMERS in Bangladesh are likely to get a new variety of rice seeds within next year that will mature in 105 days or three-and-a-half months, the quickest among all the varieties currently out on the fields.

The rice seed, which will be suitable for cultivation during the aman season, was developed by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) through hybridisation of a local rice variety with the high-yielding BRRI Dhan-39.

“The grain quality will also be fine,” said Mohammad Alamgir Hossain, a BRRI scientist who has been involved in the seed’s development from the beginning.

The yield, Hossain said, would be similar to those of the existing short-duration high-yield variety seeds — BRRI Dhan-33 and BINA-7.

“But farmers can harvest the latest one at least 10 days ahead of those two,” Hossain said.

BRRI Dhan-33 matures in 118 days, while BINA-7, developed by Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (Bina), matures in 110-120 days — both a month earlier than BR-11, the preferred variety for the aman season.

The two short-duration rice crops help farmers fight seasonal hunger or monga and mitigate the risks of crop losses from natural disasters, such as floods and cyclone.

More importantly, they have widened scope for farmers to grow potato, mustard, wheat or vegetables, and thus have contributed to increasing crop intensity and overall agricultural production.

“The shorter duration varieties are surely gaining popularity. They let farmers add a new crop to their annual cultivation plan, providing a new channel to increase their income,” said Wais Kabir, executive chairman of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (Barc).

“We have recommended that the National Seed Board give approval to the seed, considering the necessity to raise agricultural production through increased crop intensity,” Kabir added.

Helal Uddin Ahmed, chief scientific officer and head of plant breeding of BRRI, expects the variety to get the Seed Board’s approval in the next couple of months.

Farmers may get the seed within next year after all necessary formalities are complete, Kabir of BARC said.

The new rice variety, expected to be named BRRI Dhan-62, will have nine per cent protein and 18-20 parts per million zinc contents after milling, higher than those of the already popular high-yield seeds, Hossain, the BRRI scientist, said.

“The better zinc content will help reduce micronutrient deficiency among children, while the increased protein will be good for the poor, who get

58 per cent of their protein requirements from rice.”—Asia News Network/The Daily Star