92,624 tonnes of mustard production target in Rangpur division

851

RANGPUR, Dec 4, 2020 (BSS) – The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing 92,624 tonnes of mustard from 67,545 hectares of land in Rangpur division during this Rabi season.

The DAE officials said farmers cultivated mustard on 61,662 hectares of land and produced 81,208 tonnes of the oilseeds in all eight districts under two agriculture regions of Rangpur division during the last Rabi season.

“The fixed production target of 92,624 tonnes of mustard for this season is higher by 11,416 tonnes than the achieved production of 81,208 tonnes of the last season,” Acting Additional Director of DAE here Agriculturist Md. Moniruzzaman told BSS.

The farmers have already completed sowing of mustard seeds on 48,633 hectares of land, 72 percent against the fixed cultivation target of the oilseeds till Thursday in the division.

“The process of sowing mustard seeds will continue till this month-end,” he said.

He said enthusiastic farmers may exceed the fixed mustard farming target in the division this time getting special government incentives to recoup the crop losses they incurred during recent floods.

Farmers will produce 53,248 tonnes of mustard from 39,150 hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur agriculture region and 39,376 tonnes mustard from 28,395 hectares of land in three districts of Dinajpur agriculture region in the division.

“The farmers are mostly cultivating high yielding varieties of mustard like ‘Tori 7’, BARI-9, BARI-14, BARI-15 and BINA-4 on more land this time like in the previous seasons in the division,” Moniruzzaman said.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), NGOs and banks are extending assistance to farmers to make the mustard cultivation programme a success.

Talking to BSS, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said mustard farming has become popular both on the vast riverine char areas and mainland in the last 12 years.

Sowing of mustard seeds on vast char areas and dried-up beds of the Dharla, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Kartoa, Atrai, Jamuna and other rivers have already been completed though the process continues on the mainland.

“Farmers are expanding cultivation of mustard on more lands both on the mainland and char areas after getting repeated bumper output with lucrative market prices adopting the newer cropping pattern to reap high profits in recent years,” Rashid said.

Farmers Ariful Haque, Manik Mian, Zahidul Islam and Abdul Latif of Rangpur Sadar upazila said they have completed sowing of mustard seeds and the tender plants are growing superbly amid favourable climatic conditions.

Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur Dr. Md. Sarwarul Alam predicted a bumper production of mustard this season as enthusiastic farmers are bringing more land under cultivation of the cash crop to make the country self-reliant on edible oil.