Almost all of the 13 million farm families of the country grow rice. Rice is grown on about 10.5 million hectares which have remained almost stable over the past three decades. About 75% of the total cropped area and over 80% of the total irrigated area is planted to rice. Thus, rice plays a vital role in the livelihood of the people of Bangladesh. The population of Bangladesh is still growing by two million every year and may increase by another 30 million over the next 20 years. Thus, Bangladesh will require about 27.26 Million tons of rice for the year 2020. During this time total rice area will also shrink to 10.28 million hectares. Rice yield, therefore, needs to be increased from the present 2.74 to 3.74 t/ha.