Tender plants of early varieties of maize are growing superbly as farmers are continuing sowing of its seeds in Rangpur agriculture region during this Rabi season.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers are expanding cultivation of the lees irrigation water consuming and highly profitable cash crop after getting repeated bumper output with lucrative prices in recent years.
“Expanded maize farming is improving the livelihoods of farmers by cutting poverty helping them in achieving self-reliance in the region," Additional Director of the DAE's Rangpur region Agriculturist Md. Tauhidul Ikbal told BSS on Tuesday.
The rapidly growing demand of maize in the country's flourishing poultry, dairy and animal husbandry sectors and food industries is inspiring famers to further expand its cultivation as a cash crop to reap more profits.
The DAE has fixed a target of producing 1,133,325 tonnes of maize from 104,045 hectares of land for all five districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat in Rangpur agriculture region this season.
“Meanwhile, farmers have already brought 67,410 hectares of land under its cultivation as the process of sowing of its seeds will continue till the next month,” Ikbal said.
He said farmers produced 10.92 lakh tonnes of maize by cultivating the crop on 101,845 hectares of land in all five districts of Rangpur agriculture region during the last Rabi season.
He hoped that enthusiastic farmers might exceed the fixed farming of maize to reap a bumper production this season across the region.
Talking to BSS, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said there are more potentialities to further increase maize yield by bringing vast tracts of char lands in the riverine areas.
Cultivation of maize is expanding fast both on the main land and riverine char areas improving the livelihoods and living standard of small and marginal farmers, landless char and riverside people during the last 13 years in the region.
Alongside the government's incentives, many NGOs distributed high yielding varieties of maize seeds and inputs among landless, small and marginal farmers, especially in char areas, for further enhancing maize cultivation this season.
People living in char and riverside areas are bringing more lands under maize farming on char lands on the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Jamuna, Dudhkumar, Kartoa, Ghaghot, Atrai and other riverine areas in Rangpur region this season.
“The expanding maize cultivation is largely contributing to cut poverty and help small and marginal farmers, landless char and riverside people in improving their livelihoods braving the adverse impacts of climate change,” Rashid said.
Agriculturalist Dr Md Abdul Mazid, who got the Independence Medal-2018 (food security), stressed on expanding cultivation of the low-irrigation water consuming maize crop also to save huge underground water amid changing climate.
He suggested farmers adopt conservation agriculture-based technologies in maize cultivation to lessen the farming time and get maximum output by reducing farming cost and reap more profits.
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Talking to BSS, farmers Rahim Uddin, Moslem Miah, Abdur Rahman and Mohammad Mukul of different villages in Rangpur said they are sowing maize seeds on their crop lands after harvesting Aman rice.
