Jute cultivation starts in Nilphamari

NILPHAMARI, Apr 09: Cultivation of jute has started in the district and it would continue for a month or so. Farmers are preparing land for cultivating the same.

They are doing so in those lands after harvesting wheat, mustard, peanut and so on.

Traditional local variety and Tossa are being cultivated mainly by the farmers of the district.

Jute cultivation do not increase in the district due to shortage of hybrid seed, changing of the farmers cropping pattern, scarcity of sufficient water bodies for rotting green jute plants, unfavourable weather condition and so on.

Farmers sources said due to shortage of ponds for rotting green jute plant they do not get high quality jute fibre as a result of which they do not get required price as well.

Sources said seven to eight maunds of jute may be produced in a bigha (30 decimal) of land.

Sources said in the last year, jute was sold at a price of around Tk 1,000 per maund which frustrated the farmers. However jute sticks are very valuable which are used as a cooking fuel.

DAE sources said this year target of jute cultivation in the district is in 11,659 hectares of land out of which local variety to be cultivated in 1495 hectares of land and Tossa in 10,164 hectares of land to produce 13,560 tonnes of jute fibre.

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