Agri experts at a function have urged the farmers to expand farming of high yielding varieties of mustard on a larger scale to get desired output to supplement government initiatives to build the country as “Sonar Bangla”, reports BSS.
They came up with the request on a field day on mustard farming demonstration and review discussion at Alimganj village under Paba upazila in the district on Thursday.
Paba upazila agriculture office of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) arranged the function under the ‘Farmers level Quality Seed of Pulse, Oilseed and Spice Production, Preservation and Distribution’ Project.
Large number of agriculture extension officials, researchers, farmers and members of the civil society joined the meeting.
DAE Director Monirul Alam, Additional Director Sirajul Islam, Deputy Director Shamsul Haque addressed the meeting as focal persons disseminating their expertise on the issue. The speakers unanimously told the meeting that the government under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina achieved food security as a result of providing the latest agri-technologies innovated by the agri-scientists besides ensuring adequate supply of fertilizers, pesticides and other agri-inputs to the farmers.
They urged the farmers to turn their one crop land into two crops one and two crops land into three crops one to build poverty and hunger free enriched Bangladesh and achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030.
Meanwhile, around 2.81 lakh tonnes of mustard yield are expected to be harvested from around two lakh hectares of lands in all eight districts under Rajshahi division during the current season. Different initiatives and favorable climate conditions in the region during this season becomes a boon for mustard plants to grow well, predicting bumper productions.
DAE has set a target of producing 1.11 lakh tonnes of mustard from 78,300 hectares of land in four districts of Rajshahi Agricultural Zone while another 1.70 lakh tonnes from 1.20 lakh hectares of land in four other districts of Bogura Agricultural Zone.
Sirajul Islam said 60,000 farmers were given seeds and fertilizers free of cost for cultivating mustard in the division under the government’s agriculture incentive programme.
