In Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district, the fortune of many farmers has changed in maize cultivation. It has changed the picture of rural economy. At one time, their agriculture was limited to the cultivation of Boro and Aman paddy along with some conventional vegetables. But now, farmers are earning huge money by cultivating maize in modern methods. Success in maize cultivation has brought smiles to the faces of the farmers in this region.
Maize cultivation has now become very popular among farmers. Every year, the farmers here are getting involved in corn cultivation as they can make more profit in a short period of time with less capital. In the current season, maize has been cultivated in a record amount of land in the upazila. The Upazila Agriculture Extension Department is expecting a bumper crop of maize if there is no major natural disaster.
According to Jibannagar Upazila Agriculture Office, the target of maize cultivation in the upazila was set at 5 thousand 350 hectares in the current season. However, there has been cultivation of corn in 6 thousand 100 hectares of land exceeding the limit.
Farmers said that last year the price of maize was high; the farmers of the upazila are heavily inclined towards the cultivation of high yielding varieties of maize.
Abdar Hossain, a maize farmer of Andulbaria village of Jibannagar upazila, said that he first started cultivating maize in this area 17 years ago. That year he spent 3 thousand taka on one bigha of land and sold the corn for about 15 thousand taka. As a result, he increased the amount of land in the next year as he gained more. This year he cultivated corn in 5 bigha land. He expects to be able to sell the maize produced on 5 bigha land for two lakh Tk. He said that at the end of Kartik, the land is made suitable for corn cultivation by cutting the land well and applying fertilizers. Seedlings grow in 10 to 15 days after sowing the seeds in the field. At the end of 6 months, the trees are cut from the land and the corn is collected. Per bigha of land produces 40 to 45 mounds of maize. 10 to 15 thousand Tk are spent on Per bigha land from land preparation to corn collection. Moreover, the produced corn is sold from 40 thousand to 45 thousand taka. Excluding all costs, the profit per bigha land is 25 thousand to 30 thousand taka.
Samadul, a corn farmer of Uthali village, said that last year, he earned about 75 thousand taka after cutting out all expenses by cultivating corn on 3 bigha land. Since he came, he cultivated corn on 7 and a half bigha land. He expects a bumper crop of corn if there is no major natural disaster. Jibannagar Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Monirujjaman said that maize is a profitable crop in this district.
About three lakh farmers are involved in this. The production target will be achieved as the weather conditions are favorable. However, farmers would have been more profitable if they could have saved the corn.