RAJSHAHI, Nov 30, 2024 (BSS) - Grassroots farmers are cultivating and producing around 12 types of crops and vegetables in char (shoal) areas of the river Padma almost around the year, except the rainy season in the district.

After receding the floodwater from the wetlands, the farmers start farming activities on around 14,853 hectares of land in 14 char areas under Godagari, Paba, Charghat and Bagha upazilas and remain in the productive works for more than nine months.

Umme Salama, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension, said most farmers in char (riverbed) areas here are now making profit by dint of their bumper production of winter vegetables including some high-valued crops.
 
To overcome their financial insolvency, the farmers were seen tilting towards large-scale commercial vegetable farming in vast char areas creating a silent revolution in this field.
 
While visiting some of the remotest and hard-to-reach areas, this reporter witnessed the success of many of the farmers cultivating cauliflower, cabbage, potato, brinjal, bottle gourd, tomato and onion.
 
Nazib Uddin, a farmer of Char Mazar diar, told BSS that he has cultivated peas on 10-bigha land in Padma char. He said after the water receded, he cleaned weeds and made the land suitable for cultivation. He had spent Taka 75,000 for the cultivation and hoped that he would make profit after selling the products.
 
He says the yield of vegetables is good this year and there is a lot of income by selling vegetables.
 
Swapan Ali, 45, another farmer of the same village, has become an icon of vegetable cultivation in his locality.
 
His annual earning is around Taka three to four lakh on average at present.
 
"I have cultivated wheat on five bighas of land. I am very much hopeful of bumper yield in the upcoming harvesting season," said Mozahar Hossain, a farmer of Bazubagha Natunpara village under Bagha upazila.
 
In addition to homestead gardening, the farmers cultivated vegetables on more land this year than the previous years as climatic condition remains favourable.
 
After meeting the local demands the surplus vegetables are being supplied to different parts of the country including Dhaka benefiting the consumers in general.
 
'I have cultivated cauliflower and cabbage on an acre of land by spending Taka 30,000. I am very much happy with the sale-proceeds valued at around Taka 80,000 during the last harvesting season,' said Muslem Uddin, a farmer of the same village.
 
Some other farmers including Ajer Ali, Mohsin Ali and Abdul Mannan of Amadpur village also revealed similar success with smiling faces.
 
Hundreds of farmers in the two districts are now very happy as deposits of alluvial silt in the char areas have given them an opportunity to cultivate various crops and vegetables in their fields, said Shamsul Wadud, additional director of the Department of Agriculture Extension.
 
Both acreage and production of various types of vegetables including cauliflower, cabbage, bitter gourd, pointed gourd, cucumber and ladies finger were increased significantly in the riverbed area during the last couple of years benefitting the consumers in general.
 
All varieties of winter vegetables have now appeared in abundance in the local markets and the yield rates achieved so far are found to be higher than that of the target due to early farming of the vegetables.
 
Farmers are being habituated to homestead gardening by establishing projection plots of improved technologies adjacent to the localities for enhancing vegetable output.
 
Modern technologies are being transferred to the grower's level through farmers' training, projection plot, field day and different types of campaign so that the farmers could make their cultivation more effective and profitable.
 
Agriculture Expert Wadud says emphasis is being given to increasing the production of high-yielding seeds and saplings through farmers' level extension and application of the high-yielding varieties.
 
Principal Scientific Officer of Regional Wheat and Maize Research Institute Dr Ilias Hossain said many farmers were seen showing success in wheat and maize farming in the char land after the best uses of modern technologies.