Char people make good profit from Rabi crops

RANGPUR, May 07 (BSS): Abundant output of crops cultivated on char lands and dried-up riverbeds brought smile to hundreds of people living on riverine char areas during the just-ended Rabi season in Rangpur agriculture region.

Experts and officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said char people and riverside marginal farmers completed harvest of their various crops safely last week before commencement of the rainy season.

"This time, riverside and char people cultivated crops on 91,000 hectares of char lands and dried-up riverbeds in all five districts of the region," Horticulture Specialist of DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam told the news agency on Tuesday.

With expanded cultivation of various crops on char lands and dried up riverbeds in riverine areas in recent times, hundreds of small and marginal farmers, poor and landless char people changed their fortune and improved living standard.

The char people mostly cultivated potato, squash, pumpkin, brinjal, gourd and other vegetables, onion, green chili, garlic, ginger, maize, wheat, Boro rice, groundnut, 'kawn', pulses, sesame, pulses, mustard with bee farming and watermelon this time.

Char people Mofizul Haque and Amena Begum of village of Dakshin Balapara Kutirpar char village in Lalmonirhat said they achieved bumper production of crops cultivated on char lands this season.