RANGPUR, Oct 14, 2019 (BSS) – The Department of Agriculture Extension
(DAE) has fixed an all-time record maize production target of over 9.65-lakh
tonnes from 95,450 hectares of land for Rangpur agriculture region during
this Rabi season.
The DAE officials said maize farming continues increasing in the region
following its repeated bumper output with lucrative market price and growing
demand in local markets.
Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Md
Moniruzzaman said maize cultivation has become popular among farmers
inspiring them in increasing its farming at lower production costs to earn
more profits.
“For example, farmers produced a record quantity of 9.23-lakh tonnes of
maize from 92,445 hectares of land against the fixed production target of
7.58-lakh tonnes from 83,192 hectares of land during the last Rabi season in
the region,” he said.
The farmers exceeded the fixed maize production target by 1.65-lakh tonnes
cultivating the crop on 9,253 hectares more land than the fixed farming
target during the last Rabi season.
Similarly, farmers produced over two lakh tonnes of maize from 23,117
hectares of land, higher by 44,000 tonnes than the fixed production target of
1.56-lakh tonnes of maize from over 18,000 hectares of land during the just-
ended Kharip-1 season.
“The growers produced a total of 11.23-lakh tonnes of maize, higher by
2.09-lakh tonnes than the fixed production target of 9.14-lakh tonnes, during
both the last Rabi and Kharip-1 seasons in all five districts of Rangpur
agriculture region,” he said.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) Agriculturist Mamunur
Rashid told the national news agency that maize farming has become popular
among farmers both in the main land and char areas bringing self-reliance to
them in recent years.
“Like in the previous seasons, char people will begin sowing maize seed on
char lands in the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Jamuna, Dudhkumar, Kartoa,
Ghaghot, Atrai and other river basins in Rangpur region by the end of this
month,” Rashid said.
Talking to BSS, farmers Afzal Hossain, Monwar Hossain and Abdur Rahim of
different char villages in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur said they are preparing
to sow maize seed on char lands on the vast Teesta riverine tracts from this
month end like previous years.
Farmers Echhahaq Ali of village Kathihara, Mofizar Rahman of Khurshadanga
village and Asharf Ali of Osmanpur village in Rangpur said they will sow
maize after harvesting early Aman rice varieties on their cop lands from
early November next.
Talking to BSS, Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid, who got the Independence
Award 2018 Medal (food security) last year, suggested for enhancing maize
farming in the northwestern Bangladesh to meet growing local demand of the
crop.
“Expanded cultivation of low-irrigation water consuming crops, like maize,
adopting conservation agriculture technologies like as strip tillage can
reduce farming costs, save huge underground water and improve environment,”
he said.
“Maize is currently being used mainly as fodder of domestic animals and
poultry birds,” he said adding that different foodstuffs could also be
prepared with maize and consumed to meet nourishment of the population
reducing pressure on rice.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Muhammad
Ali said the government is distributing special incentives among small and
marginal farmers, like in the previous years, to further increase maize
production in the region this season.