RANGPUR, Dec 08 (BSS): The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing 10,395 tonnes of pulses on 8,540 hectares of land in the five districts of Rangpur agriculture region during the current Rabi season.
"Sowing of pulse seed continues in full swing in the region to increase production for meeting nutrition of the population by locally produced pulses," Horticulture Specialist of the DAE at its regional office agriculturist Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam told the news agency on Saturday.
The farmers have already sowed pulse seed on 2,217 hectares of land or about 26 per cent of the fixed farming target till Friday in the region where the tender plants of the crop are growing superbly amid favourable climatic conditions.
The fixed target include production of 2,792 tonnes of lentil from 2,148 hectares of land, 76 tonnes of gram from 60 hectares, 5,683 tonnes 'mashkalai' from 4,899 hectares, 356 tonnes of mungbean (winter) from 274 hectares, 1,373 tonnes of 'khesari' from 1,056 hectares, 32 tonnes cowpea from 29 hectares and 83 tonnes of 'Arhar' from 74 hectares of land.
The DAE and other agriculture related departments, organisations and banks are providing training, quality seed, latest technologies and inputs to the farmers to make the pulse farming programme successful this season.
"Besides, the government has taken special steps like disbursement of easy-term agri-loans to the farmers to encourage them in bringing more land under cultivation of pulses to enhance production this season," Islam added.
Deputy Director of DAE at Rangpur regional office Md Moniruzzaman said a tremendous potential is prevailing in the northern region to increase pulse production utilising latest technologies, proper crop diversification and land management.
"The nation may achieve self- reliance on pulse in the near future as the farmers are showing their keen interests in expanding cultivation of pulses as highly profitable crops both on the main land and char areas across the country," he added.
He specially suggested the farmers for large-scale adoption of the mixed and inter-cropping methods to further increase production of pulses in all seasons round the year in the region.
Predicting bumper production of pulses this season in the region, Regional Additional Director of the DAE agriculturist Md Shah Alam said the country has a huge potential to further enhance output of pulses through increasing its cultivation.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has fixed a target for farmers to produce 86,079 tonnes of mustard from 66,728 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 per cent against the fixed cultivation target, under farming of oilseed
till Thursday in both regions of the division.
Horticulture specialist of the DAE Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam said that sowing of mustard seed continues in 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 40,473 hectares 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, 1,420
hectares 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 extendingassistance to the farmers to make the extensive mustard cultivation programme successful this season.
The farmers are farming the cash crop on more land after getting repeated bumper productions with excellent price in recent years adopting the "Short
duration Aman rice-mustard-mugbean-short duration Aus rice" cropping pattern to 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 climatic conditions.
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.
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