RAJSHAHI, April 1, 2019 (BSS)- Maize farming has gradually been rising in
the region including its vast Barind tract as the farmers are reaping more
profit than that of wheat and boro paddy.
For this reason, the farmers concerned are seen more interested towards
cultivating maize after reducing the acreage of boro paddy and wheat every
year opening up a new door of cropping diversity.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) had set a target of bringing
41,105 hectares of land under maize farming in all eight districts under
Rajshahi division this season but the farmers cultivated it on 47,515
hectares creating scope of producing around 5.30 lakh tonnes of maize grain.
Dev Dulal Dhali, Additional Director of DAE, said there was no scarcity of
seeds this time as huge quantities of the same were distributed among the
farmers and they timely completed sowing maize seeds in more lands under the
crop farming program.
Estar Ali, a farmer of Manik Chalk village, told BSS at least Taka 10,000
is required for cultivation of wheat on one bigha of land that yields hardly
14 to 16 mounds. On the contrary, maize farming on one bigha of land needs
Taka 7,000 yielding 40 to 50 mounds. That’s why he has cultivated the cash
crop on 25 bigha of lands this season.
Bakul Hossain, another farmer of Jhikra village, used to cultivate boro
paddy during last 30 years. But, this season, he has cultivated maize on 10
bigha of land instead of boro as the crop profits him in last two years.
Previous season’s profit from five bigha of lands encourages another farmer
Golam Rabbani of Pakri village to cultivate the crop on 10 bigha of lands
this season.
Shafiqul Islam, Upazila Agriculture Officer in Godagari, said maize farming
land has almost been doubled in last five years. In the current season, maize
was cultivated on 1,715 hectares of land only in the Godagari Upazila.
He says wheat farming needs optimum cold and fog for its successful growth
of plant from December to second week of February. But the adverse impact of
climate change destabilizes the expected climatic condition hampering the
wheat yield for the last couple of years.
Agriculturist Islam, however, says the DAE extends support towards maize
farming side by side with the wheat and boro.
Dr Ilias Hossain, Principal Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Wheat and
Maize Research Institute, said maize contains huge Vitamin-A and its multi-
dimensional use including production of corn oil with no cholesterol from
maize can helps heart patients in many ways through consuming its oil.
He said the farmers both the small and marginal ones cultivate the cash
crop in more lands including the vast Barind tract and char areas in the
region.
Availability of quality seeds, including hybrid varieties, huge demand of the
commodity in the country and maximum profits have encouraged them towards the
farming remarkably.
Dr Hossain attributed that the maize is now being used in preparation of
various nutritional foods like corn-well, corn-flex, poultry and animal feed
and fodder and in several industrial products as well.
The demand for the crop is on the rise with the increase of the poultry and
dairy farms, he pointed out.
He hoped that the enhanced farming could supplement the efforts to ensure
food security adding that the field level DAE officials and staffs are
working relentlessly to overcome the existing obstacles being faced by the
farmers relating to the maize farming.