RAJSHAHI, Jan 21, 2023 (BSS) - Farming and production of cauliflower is rising gradually in the region, including its vast Barind tract, contributing a lot towards improving living and livelihood conditions of the producers.
 
The rising production is also meeting the gradually mounting its demands along with other seasonal vegetables and crops.

Currently, the farmers are very happy because they are getting lucrative yield and price by selling vegetables from their field directly.
 
After meeting the local demands, many trucks laden with varieties of winter vegetables, including cauliflower, are being sent to Dhaka, Sylhet, Cumilla, Chattogram and Barishal every day.
 
Wholesale trader Fazley Hossain said demand for cauliflower in Durgapur Upazila of Rajshahi district is higher.

Shatahar Ali, 46, has already sold cauliflower of Taka 80,000 from his farming field this season inspiring many to follow him for income-generations.
 
Ali, a farmer of Chuniapara village under the Durgapur Upazila, has brought one and a half bigha of land under cauliflower farming spending around Taka 25,000.
 
Each piece of the winter vegetable is being sold at Taka 25-30 from his farming field directly at present while one piece is being sold at Taka 35-40 in retail markets.
 
"I'm hoping to sell cauliflower worth over Taka1.5 lakh from my field this season," said Ali while talking to BSS on Friday with smiling face.
 
Upazila Agriculture Officer Mahbubur Rahman said they had set a target of bringing 865 hectares of land under the vegetables farming during the current winter season in the upazila.
 
Of those, cauliflower has been cultivated on around 70 hectares of land and the dominating areas are Joynagar, Kanpara, Chuniapara, Kolonhati and Bajuskhali, he added.
 
Agriculturalist Rahman said the cauliflower has delighted many of the farmers in this region.
 
Farmers are successfully producing early varieties of winter vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, radish, carrot, beet, turnip, tomato, leafy spinach, red spinach and receiving lucrative prices in the wholesale markets.
 
Hundreds of farmers have become happy after attaining good yield and lucrative market price of the early winter vegetables.
 
Rahman said commercial and homestead vegetable farming are gradually gaining popularity in the vast Barind tract as many people are seen humming towards the farming leaving behind the highly irrigation based crops amid government and non-government initiatives.
 
On behalf of the 'Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)' project, more than 12.58 lakh community people of 2.66 lakh households are being motivated and encouraged for vegetable farming to reduce the pressure on underground water in the high-barind areas.
 
DASCOH Foundation has been implementing the IWRM project in 1,280 drought-hit villages of 39 Union Parishad and three municipalities in eight upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts supported by Switzerland since 2015.
 
Shamsul Wadud, Additional Director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said most of the targeted lands have already been brought under vegetable cultivation in the region this year.

A target has been set to produce 20.06 lakh tonnes of vegetables from 89,666 hectares of land in the region including its vast Barind tract during the current winter season.
 
The DAE has set the target to produce various kinds of winter vegetables in all eight districts under Rajshahi division after the best uses of its existing natural resources and modern technologies.

Varieties of winter vegetables have been appearing in both retail and wholesale markets here abundantly making both the sellers and buyers happy for the last couple of months like previous years.