RANGPUR, March 13, 2020 (BSS) – As harvesting continues with excellent
yield rate, the riverside and char people are expecting bumper production of
various crops cultivated on dried-up riverbeds and char lands in Rangpur
agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said harvest
of the cultivated crops on shoals, dried-up and silted-up riverbeds and char
lands will continue till the commencement of the next rainy season.
The poor and landless char and riverside people, have brought over
90,000 hectares of char lands under farming of various crops in all five
districts of the region during the current Rabi season.
The farmers have mostly cultivated pumpkin, mustard other oil seeds,
watermelon, ‘kawn’, onion, garlic, chili, pulses, potatoes and other
vegetables, maize, wheat, squash, gourd, capsicum, Boro rice, groundnut,
tobacco and other crops on these lands.
“The char people already completed harvesting of mustard and some
vegetables as the process will continue for the other crops,” said Deputy
Director of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Md. Moniruzzaman.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh
Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said crop cultivation on shoals, dried up
riverbeds and char lands is expanding every year.
“More than 55,000 char and riverside households, who are beneficiaries
of different NGOs, including RDRS Bangladesh, and government organisations,
are cultivating crops in some 300 char villages and dried-up riverbeds of the
region.
Of them, some 40,000 char and riverside families have achieved self-
reliance by farming various crops on these lands changing their living
standard in the last eleven years.
Manager (Agriculture) of Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB) Agriculturist
Nirmal Chandra Bepari said around 25,000 char families with the support of
the DAE and PAB have achieved success through pumpkin cultivation in char
villages since 2009 in the region.
Talking to BSS, farmer Moktar Ali of village Char Taluk Shahbaz in
Balapara union of Kawnia upazila in Rangpur said some 200 char and riverside
families of the union have cultivated various crops, including pumpkin, on
char lands on the Teesta riverbeds.
“I have cultivated pumpkin on 2.50 acres of sandy land to complete its
harvesting by May next and earn a net profit of Taka 1.50-lakh excluding all
expenses this season,” he said.
Maloti Rani of the same village said she has cultivated pumpkin on 180
sandbars on the Teesta riverbed spending Taka 80,000 this season.
“Five to seven pumpkins have appeared in every tree with an average
weight between two to seven kg now,” she said, adding that she is hoping to
earn a net profit of Taka 2.50-lakh this season.
Similarly, farmers Matiar Rahman, Saiful Islam, Prafulla Barman, Suresh
Roy, Parboti Barman and Maruf Hossain of Balapara union said they are
expecting excellent profit from their crops cultivated on char lands in the
same area this season.
Riverside farmers Mahbub Alam, Kochhim Uddin and Morsheda Begum of Char
Paschim Mohipur village here said they are expecting lucrative profits after
harvesting their cultivated pumpkins, onions, vegetables, potato and brinjal
on char lands this season.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Muhammad
Ali said hundreds of char and riverside villagers have become self-reliant by
cultivating various crops adopting intercropping methods on char lands in
recent years.