Transforming Rice Cultivation in the Hilly Regions of Bangladesh: A Story of Resilience and Innovation

by Muhammad Ashraful Habib*, Swati Nayak*, Nuruzzaman*, and Saidul Islam*

Lying in the southeastern part of Bangladesh, the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) are the country’s only extensive hilly region that belongs to a low-productive agriculture zone. Most rural households in this region depend on agriculture-related activities for their livelihoods, yet some inhabitants have never, or only rarely, received information on new rice varieties. The rough terrain, with limited plains and steep slopes, further makes it difficult for the farmers to cultivate crops, especially rice. IRRI is assisting these farmers to cope with several of the challenges in sustaining their productivity and economic stability.

The Search for Best-Fitted Varieties and Performance Evaluation

IRRI and the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) initiated a series of farmer led Head-to-Head Adaptive Trials (HHATs) to identify high-yielding, short-duration rice varieties capable of withdstanding the region’s specific challenges, such as water scarcity and poor soil fertility. The market segment for best-fit rice varieties of the hilly ecosystem is TLaMF-I (Transplanted, late duration, medium slender-irrigated). The On-Farm Trial was conducted in Khagrachari and Rangamati districts using various varietal entries like BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan74, BRRI dhan84, BRRI dhan88 and BRRI dhan100.

BRRI dhan74 was used as the the benchmark, while BRRI dhan28 was recognized by farmers as the local check variety. The remaining varieties, BRRI dhan84, BRRI dhan88, and BRRI dhan100, were evaluated as test varieties. The results showed that BRRI dhan100 and BRRI dhan88 produced the highest genetic yield, reaching 7.16 t/ha and 6.42 t/ha,respectively, in Khagrachari. On the other hand, BRRI dhan100 and BRRI dhan88 produced 6.20 t/ha and 6.80 t/ha,respectively, in Rangamati.

BRRI dhan88 is a Boro season rice variety released by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in 2018. This medium slender rice variety, with an average lifespan of 140-143 days, is tolerant to Bacterial Leaf Blight, Neck Blast, Leaf Blast, and Lodging. The crop grows to a height of 96cm with an average yield of 7t/ha. In the OFT of the TLaMF-I market segment in Boro 2023-24, BRRI dhan88 yielded 17.46% higher than local variety BRRI dhan28 (Boro 2022-23) and 3.17% more than the benchmark variety BRRI dhan74 (Boro 2022-23).

BRRI dhan100, a Boro season rice variety released by BRRI in 2021, has a medium slender grain, a lifespan of 148 days, and key traits such as zinc enrichment, lodging tolerance, and moderate resistance to bacterial leaf blight, sheath blight, and whitehead. With an average genetic yield of 7.7 t/ha and a plant height of 101 cm, BRRI dhan100 outperformed BRRI dhan28 (Boro 2022-23) by 24.64% and the benchmark BRRI dhan74 by 5.80% in the Boro 2023-24 season.