RANGPUR, Dec 7, 2018 (BSS) – The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE)
has fixed a target for farmers to produce 86,079 tonnes of mustard from
66,728 hectares of land in all eight districts of two agriculture regions
under Rangpur division this season.
The DAE officials said farmers have so far brought 40,036 hectares of land,
60 percent against the fixed cultivation target, under farming of oilseed
till Thursday in both regions of the division.
Talking to BSS, Horticulture Specialist of the DAE at its regional office
here Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam said that sowing of mustard seed continues
in full swing now and the process will continue till third week of the
current month.
Under the programme, 52,210 tonnes of mustard will be produced from 40,473
hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur agriculture region and 33,869
tones mustard from 26,255 hectares of land in Dinajpur agriculture region of
Rangpur division.
In Rangpur agriculture region, the farmers have sowed mustard seed on
23,900 hectares of land while the farmers have sowed mustard seed on 16,136
hectares of land in three districts of Dinajpur agriculture region till
Thursday last.
The farmers have already sowed mustard seed on 3,500 hectares of land in
Rangpur, 5,800 hectares in Gaibandha, 9,030 hectares in Kurigram, 1,420
hectares in Lalmonirhat and 4,150 hectares of land in Lalmonirhat districts.
“The farmers are mostly cultivating high yielding varieties of mustard like
‘Tori 7’, BARI-9, BARI-14, BARI-15, BINA-4 and other varieties of the oilseed
on more land this time like the previous season in the division,” Islam
added.
Deputy Director of DAE at its regional office here Md Moniruzzaman said the
DAE and other agriculture related departments and banks are extending
assistance to the farmers to make the extensive mustard cultivation programme
successful this season.
The farmers are farming the cash crop on more lands after getting repeated
bumper productions with excellent price in recent years adopting the “Short
duration Aman rice-mustard-mugbean-short duration Aus rice” cropping pattern
to reap high profits.
“Sowing of mustard seed in the huge char areas on the Dharla, Teesta,
Brahmaputra, Kartoa, Atrai and Jamuna and other riverine tracts has already
been completed as the process continues in full swing in the mainland,”
Moniruzzaman added.
Farmers Ariful Haque and Manik Mian of village Najirdigar in Rangpur said
they have already completed sowing of mustard seed on their lands and the
tender plants of the crop are growing superbly amid favourable climatic
conditions.
Predicting bumper production of mustard this season, Regional Additional
Director of the DAE Shah Alam said the government is assisting the farmers to
increase production of the oilseed and make the country self-reliant on
edible oil at its own.