A Bangladeshi farmer who killed more than 80,000 rodents in a single month won a colour television on Wednesday as he was crowned the country's champion rat killer of 2009, officials said.

Mokhairul Islam disposed of 83 450 rats in February, more than double the tally of last year's winner, department of agriculture director Abdul Hannan told AFP.

The annual competition was launched in the impoverished country by authorities in a bid to reduce the loss of crops eaten by rats.

"Islam deposited the dead rodents' tails at the district agriculture office," Hannan said.

"During the special drive, our farmers and school kids killed 6.5 million rats, saving more than eight percent of the wheat crop."

Islam, who used traps, poison, electric barriers and flooding to capture his quarry, was due to collect his television from the agriculture minister at a ceremony in Dhaka later on Wednesday.

The government estimates that up to 10 percent of Bangladesh's crops ? mostly rice, wheat and potatoes ? is devoured by millions of rats every year.

Last year an invasion of rats in the southeastern Chittagong hill tracts region wiped out crops and caused a famine in some remote villages.

The UN's World Food Programme distributed food aid to 120 000 people for four months after the invasion forced affected tribal people to live on wild roots.