ย Just before harvesting his Aman paddy, Alal Uddin of Koidanga village did something unusual in his community:he broadcast mustard seeds (Bari-17) across his standing crop. No tilling. Noextra labor.
ย Ten days later, when the paddywas harvested, his field revealed a surpriseโlively mustard seedlings thrivingbeneath the cut stalks. In just 85 days, he harvested 204 kilograms of mustardfrom one bigha (0.33 acres) of land, more than he had hoped.
ย Since Bari-17 is a short-durationvariety, Alal now grows three crops annually on land that previously yieldedonly two: Aman paddy, mustard, and maize.
ย ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐โ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ.
ย Most Rajshahi farmerstraditionally grow just two crops yearlyโAman paddy, followed by either Bororice or maize. This system often leaves fields idle or demands excessiveirrigation for Boro rice, increasing costs while underutilizing land.
ย Now, farmers like Alal areadopting relay cropping with mustard, maximizing land productivity and profits.
ย BURO Bangladesh'sclimate-resilient agriculture initiative made this possible. The programtrained a local farmer group in relay cropping, conservation agriculture,improved variety selection, and optimal crop rotation. As a participant, Alalhosted a demonstration plot showcasing no-till mustard cultivation after Amanrice.
ย The relay method eliminated theneed for separate tillage for mustard. Rice stubble served as natural mulchafter pre-harvest seeding, retaining soil moisture, reducing irrigation needs,and recycling residual nutrients, avoiding additional fertilizer costs.
ย His total cost? ๐๐๐ง ๐ฒ,๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฌ.
Revenue? ๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ด,๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฌ.
Net profit from land thatwouldโve stayed fallow? ๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ญ,๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฌ.
ย In drought-prone Rajshahi, thehigh water demand of Boro rice is becoming unsustainable. As a result, BUROBangladesh promotes maize as a water-efficient alternative to Boro rice. WhileBoro requires 25โ30 irrigations, maize needs just 4โ5, significantly cuttingcosts.
ย Alalโs success has inspiredneighboring farmers to adopt the modelโa low-input, high-return approachcreating new possibilities for smallholder farmers.
ย Through credit support,climate-appropriate crop recommendations, and technology demonstrations, BUROBangladesh is transforming agricultural practices across Bangladesh.
โ
