Programme to popularize Ribbon Retting Method among farmers in Gaibandh

A massive programme has been undertaken to popularize the Ribbon Retting Method among farmers aimed to separate ribbon from jute sticks and to rot those in the holes properly without water bodies.

Like the previous year, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) is implementing the programme in farmers' level in all the seven upazilas of the district during the current season, office sources said.

The method will be popularized to a large number of jute growers of the district in phases through providing them with need base training, equipments and technological support from the department.

Under this method, the raw ribbon will be separated from the jute sticks through a iron made ribboner. Then the separated ribbon will be kept under the water of polythene scattered big hole until rotting those properly, said an official of DAE.

In this process, there is no necessary of water body like pond, canal and ditch and seasonal rain to rot the ribbon. Some decomposed water and a little urea fertilizer are needed to use in the hole to rot the ribbon quickly, he also said.

In many of the places of the district the jute cultivators
face difficulties for rotting their harvested jute sticks for
want of sufficient water in the water bodies. This method will
help them significantly get desired fiber of jute.

Deputy Director of DAE AH Bazlur Rashid said Bangladesh Jute
Research Institute has innovated the method, an alternative
system for jute rotting, after long days research to help the
farmers get fine fiber of jute and its fair prices.

A total of 750 ribboners would be distributed to the 7500
jute growers of the district this month to help the jute growers
accustom with the new technology, he also said.

Training is also being provided to the farmers to make the
technology more popularized to them at the initiative of the
field level DAE official, he further said.

DAE office sources said a total of 16,850 hectares of land
out of targeted 11,875 ones from the district have been brought
under jute cultivation this year with the production target of 1,
87,225 bells of jute.

News Source: BSS