RANGPUR, Jan 19, 2021 (BSS) – Farmers are expecting a bumper production of wheat after exceeding its fixed farming target by 3.12 percent in Rangpur agriculture region during this Rabi season.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said tender wheat plants are growing fabulously now amid favourable climatic conditions predicting excellent out of the cereal crop.
They said a target of producing 69,630 tonnes of wheat from 19,550 hectares of land has been fixed for all five districts in the region this time.
However, enthusiastic farmers have finally brought 21,160 hectares of land under wheat cultivation exceeding the fixed farming target by 1,610 hectares or 3.12 percent in the region.
“Farmers are showing more interest in farming wheat to enhance its production in recent years in the region,” Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office here Agriculturist Md. Moniruzzaman told BSS today.
Cultivation of the less irrigation water consuming cereal crop of wheat has become popular among farmers as they achieved excellent production with lucrative prices in recent years.
The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) and different agriculture related organisations and institutions have extended assistance to farmers to make the wheat farming programme successful.
“The government has supplied quality wheat seeds and provided latest technologies, training, fertilisers and other inputs to farmers to achieve the fixed wheat production target in the region,” Moniruzzaman said.
The farmers have mostly cultivated high yielding wheat varieties like ‘Bijoy’, ‘Pradip’, ‘Sotabdi’, BARI Gom25, BARI Gom26, BARI Gom27, BARI Gom28 and BARI Gom29 using conservation agriculture (CA)-based technologies to enhance production.
Talking to the national news agency, Agriculturist Dr. Md. Abdul Mazid, who got the Independence Medal 2018 (food security), expressed satisfaction over expanded wheat cultivation by farmers in Rangpur agriculture region.
“Adoption of the CA-based strip tillage and bed planting methods in sowing wheat seeds using seeder machines substantially increases wheat yield reducing soil erosion and need for irrigation compared to the full tillage along with saving huge fuel and labour costs.
He said wheat production was being affected in the past due to adverse impacts of high temperature on its farming from flowering to ripening stages for late sowing of seeds after harvesting late variety Aman rice and use of low quality local seeds.
“However, farmers are sowing high quality, disease resistant and stress tolerant varieties of wheat seeds timely using the latest low cost CA-based technologies after harvesting short duration Aman rice to get bumper output,” Dr Mazid said.
He suggested cultivating wheat and other less irrigation water consuming crops using the latest technologies to save groundwater ensure food security and earn more profits and called for changing food habits by taking wheat in daily meals.
Talking to BSS, farmers Haider Ali, Abul Kalam, Monwarul Islam and Aiyub Ali of different villages in Rangpur said they have cultivated wheat as a more profitable crop farming of which requires less costs and brings higher profits than Boro rice cultivation.
“The tender wheat plants are now growing excellent on our crop fields predicting a bumper production during the current Rabi season like in the previous years,” said farmer Ariful Haque Batul of village Najirdigar in Rangpur.