The farmers are expecting a bumper output of mustard in all five districts of Rangpur agriculture region as harvest of the crop will begin from the first week of next month during the current Rabi season.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said the blooming mustard plants on crop fields have given the nature a dazzling yellowish looks amid favourable climatic conditions predicting bumper production of the crop. After getting better production with lucrative price between Taka 2,300 and Taka 2,800 per mound (40 kg) in local markets last year, farmers have brought more land under cultivation of the profitable crop this season in the region.
Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Md. Moniruzzaman said farmers have cultivated mustard on 33,340 hectares of land this time, higher by 3,994 hectares than last year’s cultivated land area of 29,346 hectares of land. The DAE has fixed a target of bringing 38,941 hectares of land under mustard cultivation to produce 57,441 tonnes of the oil seed for the region this season.
“Though the fixed mustard farming target fell short by 5,601 hectares of
land this time due to various reasons, farmers have cultivated the crop on
3,994 hectares of more land this season than last year,” he said.
The farmers finally cultivated mustard on 5,805 hectares of land in
Rangpur, 7,450 hectares in Gaibandha, 12,475 hectares in Kurigram, 2,030
hectares in Lalmonirhat and 5,580 hectares of land in Nilphamari districts in
the region this season.
The farmers have mostly cultivated high yielding mustard varieties like
‘Tori 7’, BARI-9, BARI-14, BARI-15, BINA-4 and other varieties on more land
and excellent growth of the crop plants is predicting bumper output of the
oil seeds this season.
The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Bangladesh Institute
of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and other agri-related organisations have
extended assistance to farmers to make the extensive mustard cultivation
programme a success.
The government has distributed mustard seeds and fertilisers free of
costs as incentives among the small and marginal farmers of the region to
cultivate mustard on one bigha of land each this season.
Talking to BSS, farmers Abdul Hye, Bakul Mian and Jahangir Alam of
different villages in Sadar, Badarganj, Gangachara and Kawnia upazilas of
Rangpur said they are expecting a bumper production of mustard with lucrative
price this season.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Muhammad
Ali said farmers are expanding mustard cultivation on both mainland and
riverine char areas every year in the region after getting repeated bumper
output and profit in recent years.
(BSS)
