Rajshahi sees upward trend in lentil farming

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RAJSHAHI, Jan 10, 2019 (BSS)- Farming of lentil is increasing gradually in
the region including its vast Barind tract as it requires less cultivation
and irrigation cost compared to many other crops especially paddy.

Sources with the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said farmers
are showing more interest in lentil cultivation since they reaped a lucrative
market price of the crop in the last couple of years.

The DAE has set a target of producing 79,504 metric tonnes of lentil seeds
from 63,980 hectares of land in eight districts under Rajshahi division this
season, said Mustafizur Rahman, additional director of DAE.

“We are cultivating lentil to avoid hassle in getting irrigation water for
paddy,” said Amzad Hossain, a farmer of Pirijpur village under Godagari
Upazila. He mentioned that acreage of lentil is increasing day by day.

Amzad said: “I have cultivated lentil on two-bigha land this year without
spending extra for irrigation. A farmer can get four to five maunds of lentil
from per bigha of land. One maund of lentil is now selling at Tk 3,800 to
4,000 in local markets”.

Prof Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan, who conducts research on water issues in
Barind, said the farmers in high Barind areas of Rajshahi, Naogaon and
Chapainawabganj districts have to spend much for irrigation in paddy farming,
but lentil cultivation needs less irrigation. Hence, they incur loss in paddy
cultivation every year.

“Due to climate change, the groundwater level has gone down. Earlier,
water was available in tube-wells at 35 feet deep, but now it has reached 120
to 145 feet. For this reason, the farmers have to spend extra for paddy
cultivation, but they can save the cost through cultivation of various less-
water consuming crops like lentil, wheat, maize, potato and some other
crops,” he said.

DAE Deputy Director Shamsul Haque said the farmers here have cultivated
lentil in around 6,500 hectares of land this year but they cultivated over
3,000 hectares in the previous year only in Godagari Upazila.

As a result of hike in irrigation cost for paddy farming, the farmers are
now cultivating different Rabi crops, he added.

He further said the growers here are showing more interest in lentil
cultivation as it does not need much irrigation cost. Besides, they got
abundant production in the last few years.

Dr Shakhawat Hossain, senior scientific officer of Bangladesh Agriculture
Research Institute, here said prospects of boosting lentil output are bright
in the region including the vast Barind tract.

Around 80,000 hectares of land remain fallow for more than three months
after the harvest of transplanted Aman paddy every year.

There has been a bright scope of bringing the huge land under the pulse
farming for the best uses of those alongside increasing cropping intensity
amid the current water-stress condition.

The country has to import huge quantity of pulses especially lentil to
meet its domestic demand. Since there is a bright prospect of increasing its
acreage, lentil could be produced in larger amount with less production cost
and the yield will no doubt lessen pressure on import, the sources said.