Panchagarh char areas see bumper maize output

PANCHAGARH, Dec 04 (BSS): The farmers of char areas along the river of Karatoa in Sadar upazila and other parts of the district gained bumper production of maize this year.

The price and demand of maize are high, according to farmers and department of agriculture extension.

Maize cultivation in char areas and some other place of the district are on the rise as most of the land in this region is sandy where other usual crops do not grow well.

The farmers of the char areas cultivated maize at low cost.

A farmer can produce 35 to 40 maunds of maize on one bigha (33 decimal) of land by spending Tk 9,000 to Tk 10,000 and can sell of maize at Tk 30,000 to Tk 35,000,the agriculture sources said.

Abbas Uddin, a farmer of Debiduba village said that he cultivated maize on two bighas of land last year and earned over Tk 55,000 deducting the cost of production.

This year he cultivated maize on five bighas of land.

The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said 14,201 hectares of land have been brought under maize cultivation with the production target 0.12 million tonnes of maize.

The farmers of the district are showing keen interest in low-cost maize cultivation as it requires less fertiliser and irrigation, said deputy director of DAE Md, Sheikh Abu Bakkar Siddik.