Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials and farmers are expecting bumper jute production in Narail district as the cultivation target fixed by the DAE is exceeded.
More than 2 lakh 46,000 bales of jute are likely to be produced in three upazilas of the district this year, a DAE official said.
Meanwhile, farmers have successfully cultivated jute on 22,275 hectares of land in the district exceeding this year’s jute cultivation target fixed by the government at 21,910 hectares of land, DAE sources said.
DAE sources said, of the total jute cultivated land, 11,925 hectares have been brought under cultivation in Lohagora upazila, 6,900 hectares of land in Narail sadar upazila and 3,450 of hectares of land in Kalia upazila this year. “It has been possible to cultivate more 365 hectares of land than the targeted land as the government has taken various pragmatic farmers-friendly programmes to inspire the jute cultivators to cultivate jute on their farmlands including all the fellow lands across the district”, said Dipak Kumar Roy, deputy director of DAE, Narail. Under the programs, different state-run agencies including BADC and BCIC ensured supplying of improved quality jute seeds, fertilizers and commercial banks including Bangladesh Krishi Bank disbursed crops loan to the farmers, he said.
Dipak Kumar Roy informed that many farmers showed their keen interest for cultivating jute on their farm lands including all the fellow lands following the last year’s bumper production of jute and its better market prices.
Besides, many educated young farmers also came forward to cultivate jute on their farm land as the demand of jute and jute products has continued increasing across the world, the DD added.
The government has taken various programmes as per the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to bring back the past glory of jute as the ‘Golden Fiber’ of the country, he said.