By Md Mamun Islam

RANGPUR, April 1, 2023 (BSS) - After bringing almost every inch of land under
crop farming responding to the call of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, farmers
are now getting bumper output of vegetables with lucrative prices in Rangpur
agriculture region.
 
Following the PM's repeated call to enhance food production in the wake of
global crises caused by the Russia-Ukraine War, encaustic farmers engaged
all-out efforts to increase production of all crops, including vegetables,
this time to ensure food security.
 
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) took special steps to inspire
farmers in bringing their croplands, fallow lands, homesteads and char lands
under cultivation of vegetables and other crops to enhance food production.
 
"To realize the PM's call, a record target of producing 9,61,170 tonnes of
winter vegetables was fixed from 40,470 hectares of land for the region
during the Rabi season," said Additional Director of the DAE, Rangpur region
Agriculturist Md. Aftab Hossain.
 
Farmers have finally cultivated winter vegetables in 40,558 hectares of land
in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Kurigram districts of the
region exceeding the fixed farming target by 198 hectares or 0.49 percent
this time.
 
"Since the beginning of the Rabi season, farmers and rural people, including
women cultivated winter vegetables in their homesteads, nearby abandoned and
fallow lands and char lands with huge enthusiasm," Hossain said.
 
As a result of various pragmatic steps taken by the government in the last 14
years, vegetable cultivation round the year adopting newer cropping patterns
and latest technologies has become a lucrative scheme to change the fortunes
of many farmers.
 
Getting incentives, assistance, easy-term agro-loan, quality seeds, inputs
and technologies from the government, farmers are expanding vegetable
cultivation during Rabi, Kharif-1 and Kharif-2 seasons and increasing
production every year.
 
"Farmers have, so far, harvested winter vegetables cultivated on 37,485
hectares of land and produced 9,43,137 tonnes of vegetables at an excellent
average yield rate of 25.16 tonnes per hectare," Hossain said.
 
After completing harvest by this month-end, farmers are expected to produce
over 10.23-lakh tonnes of winter vegetables to exceed the fixed production
target by around 62,000 tonnes this season in the region.
 
Deputy Director of the DAE, Rangpur Agriculturist Md. Obaidur Rahman Mandal
said farmers showed more interest in farming winter vegetables responding to
the call of the Premier to enhance food production.
 
"As a result, farmers have brought more lands in the mainland, riverine char
areas and fallow homesteads under cultivation of winter vegetables with the
DAE assistance," he said.
 
Talking to BSS, farmers Arman Hossain, Abdul Haque, Aiyub Ali and Golam
Mostafa of different villages in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur said they are
now harvesting winter vegetables and getting bumper production to reap
excellent profits.
 
Farmers Solaiman Ali, Shahinur Islam and Anwarul Islam of Gangachara upazila
and Shamsul Haque, Nurul Amin and Azizur Rahman of Kawnia upazila in Rangpur
said they have cultivated varieties of winter vegetables on sandy char lands.
 
"We are harvesting winter vegetables and getting excellent yield and earning
pleasing profits to lead a normal life despite the prevailing global crises
caused by the Russia-Ukraine War," said Solaiman Ali.
 
Rangpur Chamber President Mostafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu stressed on setting
up of more agro-based industries for processing the produced vegetables to
enhance export of the agro-products to benefit farmers alongside
strengthening the rural economy.