RAJSHAHI, Aug 01, 2019 (BSS)- Sesame farming can bring diversity in the
existing cropping system of the drought-prone Barind area and that can be the
effective means of mitigating its adverse impact of climate change.
Abu Muhammad Musha, a retired Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh
Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), opined that prospects of large-scale
sesame farming on the fallow lands are very bright in the Barind area.
He said more than one lakh hectares of land remain fallow after harvesting
transplanted Aman paddy in the high Barind tract comprising 10 upazilas of
Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon districts every year.
Agriculturist Musha said there is an enormous prospect of producing at
least one lakh tonnes of sesame valued at around Taka 300 crore from the
fallow lands yearly and thereby, the country’s demand for edible oil could be
fulfilled to some extent.
Meanwhile, farmers and agriculture officials in the region are expecting a
bumper yield of sesame this season.
Deb Dulal Dhali, Additional Director of Department of Agriculture
Extension (DAE), said the pollination was well due to favorable weather
condition and the plants are still unaffected by pest attacks or natural
calamities.
Most of the plants have already passed the pod formation stage, he added.
A good number of honey farmers set wooden hives alongside the oilseed fields,
and it helped better pollination.
The farmers were seen showing interest in cultivating the crop on more
areas of lands after getting its bumper yield and good prices in recent
years.
It requires lower production cost in terms of irrigation, fertiliser and
labour compared to other Rabi crops, and less fertile lands, where other
crops do not usually grow well, can be used for sesame cultivation, he said.
Usually farmers in the region grow local variety T-6 sesame. Bari Til-3,
Bari Til-4 and Bina Til are also being cultivated in some areas as the DAE
and BARI authorities are campaigning for cultivating high yielding sesame
varieties invented by Bari between the gaps of potato and Aman paddy.
Dr Shakhawat Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer of On Farm Research
Division of BARI, said sesame requires 70-80 days for attaining maturity and
mid-February to mid-May is the optimum period for its cultivation.
“We are motivating the farmers towards boosting sesame cultivation through
the best uses of modern technologies in the area,” he said.
To this end, a project titled “Extension of Sesame Farming in bed-planting
method in drought-prone area in climate change situation” is being
implemented.
He says there is no alternative to bring diversity in cropping system in
the changed climatic condition and urged the farmers to extend their
cooperation to sesame promotion in the dried area.
Alim Uddin, 43, a farmer of Pirijpur village in Godagari upazila, said he
cultivated sesame on two bighas of land last year spending Tk 700 and got
four maunds of yield.
“That time I made a profit of Tk 6,500. This season I cultivated sesame on
two and half bighas of land,” he said.
Cultivation of sesame, requiring moderate irrigation only once, is easier
and less costly than other crops but brings good profit, said Monwar Hossain,
46, a sharecropper of Mohishalbari village under the same upazila.
“Sesame farming between the gap of potato and Aman paddy cultivation
periods helps earning additional money. It also makes the soil fertile,” said
Jamir Uddin, who cultivated sesame on two bighas of land.