Record Rangpur mustard target set as farmers expand cultivation with incentives and high-yield varieties. Photo : BSS

RANGPUR, Nov 15, 2025 (BSS) - The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has fixed a record target of producing 2,34,919 tonnes of mustard from 1,48,748 hectares of land for Rangpur division during the current 2025-2026 Rabi season.
 
The DAE sources said that farmers produced 1,84,529 tonnes of mustard by cultivating the crop on 1,22,566 hectares of land in all eight districts under two agricultural regions of the division in the last 2024-2025 Rabi season.
 
The fixed mustard production target of 2,34,919 tonnes for this season is 50,390 tonnes or 27.30 percent more than the produced 1,84,529 tonnes of the oil seeds in the division last season.
 
The set target includes production of 1,46,281 tonnes of mustard from 90,568 hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari under Rangpur agricultural region of the division.
 
Besides, 88,638 tonnes of mustard will be produced from 58,180 hectares of land in three districts of Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh under Dinajpur agricultural region of Rangpur division this season.
 
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Sirajul Islam said the record target of producing mustard has been fixed to gradually attain self-reliance on production of edible oils from locally produced mustard and other oilseeds.
 
In recent years, farmers have been encouraged to expand mustard oil cultivation to reap more profits, as people from all walks of life have been using mustard oil increasingly every year.
 
So far, farmers have sowed mustard seeds on about 6,500 hectares of land in the division as the sowing process will end by next month.
 
Getting special government incentives in terms of high quality seeds and fertilisers, small and marginal farmers are expanding cultivation of the crop on the mainland and riverine char areas with huge enthusiasm.
 
The DAE, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) are extending assistance to farmers to make the mustard cultivation program a success. 
 
"Farmers are mostly cultivating high yielding varieties of mustard like BARI Sarisha-16, BARI Sarisha-15, BARI Sarisha-11, BARI Sarisha-9, BINA Sarisha-3, BINA Sarisha-4, and BARI Sarisha-14 on more land across the region," Sirajul Islam said.
 
Deputy Director of the DAE's Burirhat Horticulture Centre in Rangpur Agriculturist Dr Md Abu Sayem told BSS that mustard farming has become popular both on the riverine char areas and mainland in the northern part of Bangladesh.
 
Sowing of mustard seeds on riverine char lands of the Dudhkumar, Dharla, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Kartoa, Atrai, Jamuna and other rivers continues now although the process will end by December next. 
 
"After getting repeated bumper production of mustard adopting newer cropping patterns and lucrative market prices in recent years, farmers are expanding cultivation of mustard every year" Sayem said.
 
Farmers Aminur Rahman, Dulal Chandra and Shahriar Alam from different villages in Rangpur said that they have completed the sowing of mustard seeds after harvesting the short-term Aman rice. 
 
"However, most farmers will complete the sowing of mustard seeds after harvesting their Aman rice on the same land," said farmer Mohsin Ali of village Kathihara under Sadar upazila of Rangpur.