Farmers of the region, including the vast Barind tract, are humming with vegetable
farming due to economic prospect of the crop.
Horticulture Specialist Monzurul Huda told BSS that Rajshahi has been regarded as the
country’s most prospective vegetable producing region. Production of vegetable is one of
the major income-generating activities in the region, he added.
In terms of food and nutritive values green vegetables are vital as these are enriched
with enormous vitamin A, B, C, calcium and iron which are essential for human body
irrespective of age and sex.
Considering its environmental and financial aspects, people are becoming interested
in horticulture in their homesteads recently creating a huge demand for fruit saplings,
vegetable seeds and saplings of ornamental plants.
The farmers have become more interested towards the vegetable cultivation as they are
gaining more profit during the last couple of years.
Vegetables’ farming becomes most profitable than other crops in recent years bringing
fortunes to thousands of farmers and commoners in the region during the past few years.
Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Nurul Amin said the
DAE has set a target of bringing 7,430 hectares of land under vegetable farming in the
district during the current season and the farmers have so far brought 6,852 hectares.
This has become possible because the DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute,
Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation and many NGOs supplied adequate
quality seeds, other agro-inputs and provided necessary technical assistance to the
farmers.
Besides, different commercial banks, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank and NGOs
disbursed agriculture loans and interest-free loans among the farmers to make the
massive vegetables farming programme successful.
Meanwhile, the harvested vegetables also make the farmers happy, as they are getting
better prices every season, farmers and market sources said.
The farmers have still been continuing cultivation of vegetables after harvesting potato
and wheat and harvesting of the earlier vegetables.
The DAE officials are expecting a bumper production of vegetables during the current
season. -BSS, Rajshahi
