3.55 lakh tonnes of wheat production expected in Rangpur division

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RANGPUR, Nov 22, 2020 (BSS) – The government has fixed a target of producing 3.55 lakh tonnes of wheat from 95,700 hectares of land for all eight districts in two agriculture regions of Rangpur division during this Rabi season.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said 69,630 tonnes of wheat will be produced from 19,550 hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur agriculture region.

Besides, farmers will produce 2.85 lakh tonnes of wheat from 76,150 hectares of land in three districts of Dinajpur agriculture region.

“Farmers of the division have started preparing their crop lands for sowing wheat seeds after harvesting Aman rice,” Acting Additional Director of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Md. Moniruzzaman told BSS today.

To make the wheat farming programme a success, the government through the DAE is distributing wheat seeds, Di-ammonium Phosphate and Muriate of Potash fertilisers as special agriculture incentives among small and marginal farmers in the division.

The farmers are showing more interest in farming wheat in Rangpur division after getting better productions with lucrative market price of the cereal crop in recent years.

“The farmers have just started sowing wheat seeds and already sowed the same on 850 hectares of land as the process will get momentum with further progress in harvesting Aman rice crop in the division from the next month,” Moniruzzaman said.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute and other agriculture-related organisations and institutions have taken adequate steps to make the intensive wheat farming programme successful.

“The DAE and other authorities concerned have taken steps to ensure supply of quality wheat seeds, latest technologies, fertilisers and other inputs to farmers to promote cultivation of the cereal crop that has huge demand in local markets,” he added.

Talking to BSS, Agriculturist Dr. Md. Abdul Mazid, who got the Independence Award-2018 (food security), said farmers are being encouraged to cultivate wheat using latest technologies to save groundwater and earn more profits.

“Wheat farming requires less irrigation water and is more profitable for farmers who got its repeated bumper productions at less farming costs along with rewarding market prices in recent years,” he said.

Farmers prefer to cultivate high yielding wheat varieties after getting excellent yield following less pests’ attacks despite adverse impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector in recent years.

“The yield rate of wheat is increasing every year as farmers are mostly cultivating the disease resistant- and stress tolerant-varieties of wheat adopting conservation agriculture technologies and proper agronomic managements,” Dr. Mazid added.

Talking to BSS, farmers Saiful Islam, Mokhlesur Rahman and Shamsul Haque of different villages in Rangpur said they have already sowed wheat seeds on their crop lands after harvesting Aman rice as the process continues in the division.