Rajshahi farmers to produce 16.47 lakh tonnes of vegetables

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RAJSHAHI, Jan 2, 2019 (BSS)-Farmers are happy with production of vegetables
and its market price during the current winter season everywhere in the
region including its vast Barind tract.

At present, local wholesale and retail markets both in rural and urban
areas have become abundant with varieties of winter vegetables like
cauliflower, cabbage, beans, tomato and potato. Production of vegetables is
now being adjudged as one of the major income-generating activities in the
region.

Marginal farmers and poor people in the region are mostly engaged in this
venture of producing different vegetables through the best use of spaces
around homesteads almost round the year.

Various government and non-government entities concerned including
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and Bangladesh Agriculture Research
Institute (BARI) are extending necessary cooperation including training and
inputs to the farmers.

DAE has set a target of producing more than 16.47 lakh metric tonnes of
vegetables from 82,315 hectares of land in eight districts in Rajshahi
division.

On-Farm Research Division (OFRD) of BARI has been implementing various
types of need-based programmes to help farmers produce traditional fruits and
vegetables round the year.

Various other agriculture-related departments and institutions have taken
adequate steps to assist the framers in making the winter vegetables’ farming
programme more profitable and successful.

Side by side with Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, various public and private
commercial banks and NGOs disbursed easy-term agriculture loans among the
farmers to make the winter vegetable farming programme a total success.

Mosharraf Hossain, a farmer of Nawhata Sheepur village under Paba upazila,
said he cultivated cauliflower and cabbage on three bighas of land after
taking it on lease at a cost of Taka of 15,000.

So far, he sold the crop worth Taka 20,000 and expects more production if
weather remains favorable. Like him, many others were also benefited by the
suitable climate and rainfalls.

OFRD Senior Scientific Officer Dr Shakhawat Hossain told BSS that the
interested farmers were being given preference to use BARI’s Tested Pattern
Technology in their gardening projects around homesteads.

Rajshahi has been regarded as the country’s most prospective vegetable
producing region. The farmers have become more interested in vegetable
cultivation as they have been gaining more profit during the last couple of
years.

Apart from, vegetables’ farming becomes more profitable than other crops in
recent years bringing fortunes to thousands of farmers and commoners in the
region during the past few years.

SM Mustafizur Rahman, additional director of DAE, said use of vacant spaces
for producing vegetables has been seen as potential means for gradual
development in the life of the downtrodden in the region.

With the increase in population, demand for vegetables is also increasing
in the region. Varieties of vegetables are available in the local markets
round the years because of regular farming of the crops along with other
seasonal fruits and crops, he added.