The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a target for farmers to produce 86,079 tonnes of mustard from66,728 hectares of land in all eight districts of two agriculture regions under Rangpur division this season.
The DAE officials said farmers have so far brought 40,036 hectares of land, 60 percent against the fixed cultivation target, under farming of oilseed till Thursday in both regions of the division.
Talking to BSS, Horticulture Specialist of the DAE at its regional office here Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam said that sowing of mustard seed continuesin full swing now and the process will continue till third week of the current month.
Under the programme, 52,210 tonnes of mustard will be produced from 40,473hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur agriculture region and 33,869 tones mustard from 26,255 hectares of land in Dinajpur agriculture region of Rangpur division.
In Rangpur agriculture region, the farmers have sowed mustard seed on 23,900 hectares of land while the farmers have sowed mustard seed on 16,136 hectares of land in three districts of Dinajpur agriculture region till Thursday last.
The farmers have already sowed mustard seed on 3,500 hectares of land in Rangpur, 5,800 hectares in Gaibandha, 9,030 hectares in Kurigram, 1,420hectares in Lalmonirhat and 4,150 hectares of land in Lalmonirhat districts.
“The farmers are mostly cultivating high yielding varieties of mustard like ‘Tori 7’, BARI-9, BARI-14, BARI-15, BINA-4 and other varieties of the oilseed on more land this time like the previous season in the division,” Islam added.
Deputy Director of DAE at its regional office here Md Moniruzzaman said the DAE and other agriculture related departments and banks are extending assistance to the farmers to make the extensive mustard cultivation programme successful this season.
The farmers are farming the cash crop on more lands after getting repeated bumper productions with excellent price in recent years adopting the “Short duration Aman rice-mustard-mugbean-short duration Aus rice” cropping patternto reap high profits.
“Sowing of mustard seed in the huge char areas on the Dharla, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Kartoa, Atrai and Jamuna and other riverine tracts has already been completed as the process continues in full swing in the mainland,” Moniruzzaman added.
Farmers Ariful Haque and Manik Mian of village Najirdigar in Rangpur said they have already completed sowing of mustard seed on their lands and the tender plants of the crop are growing superbly amid favourable climaticconditions.
Predicting bumper production of mustard this season, Regional Additional Director of the DAE Shah Alam said the government is assisting the farmers to increase production of the oilseed and make the country self-reliant on edible oil at its own, reports BSS fropm Rangpur.
