The farmers are happy getting better yield and excellent price after completing the harvest of mustard oil-seed in Rangpur agriculture region in the just-ended Rabi season, reports BSS.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said farmers produced 31,157 tonnes of mustard with 1.33 tonnes of the oil-seed per hectare of land from 29,386 hectares of land in all five districts of the region this season.
Market sources said the newly harvested mustard oilseed is being sold at rates between Taka 2,100 and Taka 2,350 per mound (40 kg) against the price of Taka 2,100 per mound even a month ago in local markets. Horticulture specialist of the DAE at its Rangpur regional office Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said farmers completed harvesting of mustard last month.
“The farmers cultivated mustard on 29,386 hectares of land, less by 11,097 hectares against the farming target of 40,473 hectares to produce 52,211 tonnes of the oilseed in the region this season,” he said.
He said farmers finally cultivated mustard on 5,471 hectares of land in Rangpur, 6,175 hectares in Gaibandha, 11,530 hectares in Kurigram, 1,680 hectares in Lalmonirhat and 4,490 hectares in Nilphamari districts in the region this time. “However, farmers achieved an excellent average yield rate of 1.33 tonnes of the crop per hectare following cultivation of its high yielding mustard varieties evolved by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) on their lands,” Islam added.
Rangpur Regional Additional Director of DAE Mohammad Ali said farmers mostly cultivated high yielding varieties of mustard like ‘Tori 7’, BARI-9, BARI-14, BARI-15, BINA-4 and other varieties of the oilseed on their land.
To make the extensive mustard cultivation programme successful, the DAE and other agriculture related departments and banks extended necessary assistance to farmers of the region.
“The government also distributed 18.50 tonnes of mustard seed and necessary fertilisers free of costs as incentives among 18,500 small and marginal farmers of the region to cultivate mustard on one bigha of land each this season,” he said.
The fixed mustard farming target could not be achieved due to crop diversification and cultivation of transplanted Aman crop on more land during the last season followed by cultivation of maize on more land this season,” he added.Talking to BSS, farmers Ali Akbar, Nurul Islam, Amirul Islam and Rahamat Ali of different villages in Sadar, Badarganj and Gangachara upazilas in Rangpur said they got excellent yield of the oilseed with lucrative price this time.