Summer cauliflower farming has become a boon for many grassroots farmers for its economic prospect in the region.
Cauliflower is mainly a winter vegetable but the farmers have started cultivating it during the summer season in the region for the last couple of years to earn more money.
Abul Kalam, a resident of Fulbari village under Godagari Upazila in the district, cultivated the cash crop on one and a half bigha of land at Shreepur block during the current season.
He has already sold cauliflower worth around Taka 1.5 lakh, making a profit of around Taka one lakh in the last two months.
Talking to BSS, Kalam said the cauliflower is being sold at Taka 90 to 100 in retail market. Around one month back, the price was much higher.
"I have also raised seedbeds of the vegetable for cultivating on around one and a half bigha of land during the upcoming winter season," he added.
Entajul Haque, another farmer of the same village, has brought three bigha of land under cabbage and one bigha under cauliflower during the current season.
He has started harvesting and selling cauliflower but cabbage will take 10 to 15 days more for harvesting.
He's very happy over the current market price of the newly harvested vegetable, mentioning that he's engaged in vegetable farming for more than 15 years.
Currently, the vegetable farming is more profitable compared to the cereal crops, including paddy, he said.
"We can cultivate different types of leafy vegetables three times a year," Haque opined.
"We are extending technical support to the farmers to make the vegetable farming profitable," said Atanu Sarker, Sub Assistant Agriculture Officer.
Vegetables are water-saving crops and its farming contributes to soil health protection besides improving rural economy, he added.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Sultana Sarmin told BSS that farmers have cultivated summer cauliflower and cabbage on around 500 bigha of land only in Godagari Upazila.
"Farmers get benefits by farming vegetables. It brings smiles on marginal farmers and poor people's faces," she said.
On behalf of the 'Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)' project, more than 12.58 lakh community people of 2.66 lakh households are being motivated and encouraged towards farming of the low-water consuming crops, including vegetables, to reduce the pressure on underground water.
The project is being implemented in around 1,280 drought-hit villages in 39 Union Parishads (Ups) and three municipalities of eight upazilas in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts since 2015, said Jahangir Alam Khan, coordinator of the project.
Meanwhile, farming of summer vegetables during the current season has exceeded target everywhere in Rajshahi division creating scopes of getting additional outputs.
According to the latest official data, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has set a target to produce around 9.15 lakh tonnes of vegetables from 49,895 hectares of land in the division.
But, finally, the farmers have brought 53,718 hectares of land under varieties of summer vegetables.
At present, most of the kitchen markets in the region are currently buzzing with all summer vegetables benefiting both growers and consumers.
Vegetable farming brings smile on farmers' faces here as they are becoming financially solvent by cultivating various types of vegetables.
