Our Correspondent
MAGURA, Jan 6: High yield of Mustard cultivation is turning fortune wheel of Magura farmers.
Farmers informed, low production cost, reasonable price and short duration of production is encouraging Magura farmers for cultivation of mustard. About 20 thousand farmers in Magura are involved in mustard cultivation.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Magura sources informed, this year mustard have been cultivated in 5390 hectares of land 5 years ago. About 6,020 tonnes mustard is expected to be produced in the district this year.
Mohibul Islam of village Kulllia under Magura Sadar Upazila said, last year I have brought 2 bighas of my land under mustard cultivation and I earned Tk 35,000 thousand. This year I have brought 4 bighas of land under mustard cultivation and I am expecting Tk 70,000 from it.
Jamirul Hasan, a farmer of village Kachundi under Magura Sadar Upazila said, for several years we are getting bumper production of mustard and at the same time we are getting fair price.
For several days this district is facing severe cold. Such weather will help us to get a good output of mustard this year, he added.
Magura DAE official Gobinda Dash said, soil and weather of Magura are congenial for mustard cultivation. We are providing mustard growers with adequate seeds and training.
Our roving correspondent from Naogaon adds: Hundreds of poor and marginal farmers elsewhere Naogaon district are expecting bumper production of mustard due to favourable weather condition and timely supply of necessary agri-input.
The peasants have applied ultra modern method to make the programme a grand success in their cropland as they have been trained on the crop cultivation. The excellent growing enterprise is predicting eye catching production across the all upazilas.
The peasant have brought the land under mustered cultivation after harvesting T-Aman paddy in a large scale as the crop cultivation is proved more lucrative to them previous year, said farmer Altaf Hossainh,32, under Manda upazila of the district.
The farmers are passing busy time to rear the crops as they will bring the same land under Boro paddy cultivation. The farmers need average Tk 6000 to 6500 to cultivate a bigha of land and can make over Tk 12,000.
The farmers are expecting to harvest the crop next month if the weather condition remains favourable.
"I have cultivated mustard on 40 decimal of land spending Tk 5000 hoping for financially self-reliant in this current season," said farmer Makbul Hossain, 54, under Badalgachhi upazila. "Bari-1 mustard variety is gaining momentum across the district." he added.
Deputy Director (DD) of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Satto Broto Shaha said, we have provided al sort of necessary support so that the farmers can grow expected yield production.
Our Correspondent from Sylhet said: Mustard farming has been on rise in the Sylhet division although it was almost neglected in the region just years ago. Many of the farmers however, were found interested on the crop due to scope of extra earning through honey collection. This year the crop has been cultivated on 7,443 hectares of land in the division's 4 districts, officials informed on Saturday.
It includes 2595 hectares in Sylhet, 1100 hectares in Moulvibazar, 1950 hectares in Habiganj and 1798 hectares in Sunamganj district, they added.
Per hectare yield is expected to be about one ton or more this year since the farmers suffered a little due to late preparation of their lands for the crop, said Deputy Director at the Sylhet divisional office of DAE, Dr. Mamun Ur Rashid Saturday. As there had been rains in the last days of the T Aman cropping season, they have to harvest the crop a little later. It delayed farming of Mustard too in some areas, the official added.
However, we have a target to produce at least 1.23 metric tonnes of Mustard per hectares, against the normal yield of 0.9 ton, he added, we set some demonstration plots in different areas to woo the common and new farmers in the crop, since huge tracts of land remain uncultivated in greater Sylhet during the Robi season.As the mustard plants have flowers, a good number of apiculturists are now engaged in collecting honey from the bee boxes, kept in the mustard lands, he added.
The DAE had targeted for bringing over 7,200 hectares of land under Mustard farming this season in the division's Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Sunamganj districts.
