GUWAHATI: Assam government has set an ambitious target of expanding area under hybrid rice cultivation to 20 per cent of the total rice producing area to increase production.
At present, 2.4 per cent or 62,743 hectares of the total area of 27.30 lakh hectares are under hybrid rice farming and this was expected to be enhanced to 5.46 lakh hectares by implementing a new scheme at a cost of Rs 417 crore during 2012-13, state Agriculture Minister Nilamani Sen Deka said here on Thursday.
A plan has been chalked out to bridge the huge gap between rice productivity in the state and the national average by popularizing hybrid farming as with increase in productivity, the net income of farmers will also increase, he said. It is estimated that by expanding the area under hybrid cultivation to 20 per cent of the total rice, yield would increase to 36.70 lakh MT during 2012-13.
Agriculture department has set an overall target of rice production of 78.30 lakh MT in 2012-13, and the yield from hybrid cultivation would account for nearly half of it while covering only one-fifth of the total rice cropland, he said.
The productivity rate was estimated to be 6,765 kg per hectare with winter rice and summer rice accounting for 15.85 lakh MT and 20.85 lakh MT respectively, agriculture department sources said. At present (2010-11), the productivity of rice per hectare in Assam is 1,983 kg. (PTI)