The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a record target of producing 13.33 lakh tonnes of wheat from 4.30 lakh hectares land in the country during the current Rabi season, official sources said.According to the DAE sources, the farmers are expected to cultivate wheat on more land this year following repeated bumper productions in recent years with lucrative market price and minimum farming costs to earn profit against costly potato or Boro cultivation.Under the programme, a record target of producing over 8.57 lakh tonnes wheat has been fixed from over 2.76 lakh hectares land this season for the country’s northern region, commonly known as the food granary.Talking to BSS, Horticulture Specialist Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam of the DAE said the fixed wheat production target for the northern region is 64.33 percent of the fixed total national production target this season.During the last season, the farmers had produced all-time record quantity
of over 10.10 lakh tonnes wheat, higher by 24.33 percent or 1.97 lakh tonnes than the fixed target of producing 8.13 lakh tonnes from 2.91 lakh heaters land in the region.The farmers had produced 10.10 lakh tonnes wheat in the region, which was 78.84 percent of the national production target of 12.81 lakh tonnes from 4.20 lakh hectares land last season.According to DAE sources, wheat production has been increasing in recent years in the northern region where the farmers produced over 9.71 lakh tonnes wheat during the previous last 2012-2013 and 7.63 lakh tonnes during the 2011-2012 Rabi seasons.Deputy Director of DAE Zulfiquer Haider said the DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) and agriculture related organisations have taken steps to make the programme successful.The farmers mostly prefer to cultivate high yielding varieties like
Satabdi, Bijoy, Gaurab, Sourab, Pradip, Monalisa, Kanchan, Akbar, Sufi and BARI Gom 25 and BARI Gom 26 in the northern region in recent years.He suggested the farmers for adopting the conservation agriculture technologies to increase yield of all cereal crops, including wheat, at reduced costs saving huge seed, irrigation water, power and fuel to ensure food security amid climate change impacts. -BSS, Rangpur
