SYLHET, Apr 15: Potato farmers of all the four districts of the division have completed harvest this season. The total area cultivated was 7806 hectares in 4 districts of the division while the total production stood at 140,508 tonnes, official sources informed.
The district of Sylhet got a total yield of 30510 tonnes where the cultivated area was at 1695 hectares. Moulvibazar district's yield stood at 40,726 tonnes an area of cultivated land at 2262 hectares while Habiganj district's yield was the same with area of cultivated land. Sunamganj got a yield of 28,566 tonnes from 1587 hectares of land.
An average per hectare production stands at 18 tonnes in the division. Per hectare yield of potato would have been better since the farmers suffered a little due to late preparation of their lands for the crop, said an official at the Sylhet divisional office of DAE.
The DAE had 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 Rabi season.
Although it is slow the potato farming had been on rise in the Sylhet division whereas it was neglected years ago. Many of the farmers however, were found interested on the crop due to its rising demand. This year the crop was cultivated on 7,806 hectares of land in the four districts.
The DAE had earlier targeted for bringing over 8,000 hectares of land under potato farming this season in the division.
Although the the region's demand of potato is mainly met by the produce of other regions of the country, its farming area is getting upward day by day, officials said.
Meanwhile, our Nilphamari correspondent adds: Traders and growers of the district have started preserving potatoes at cold storages.
There are as many as nine cold storages in the district having cumulated capacity to store 58,000 tonnes of potatoes there.
Sources said the cold storage owners of Nilphamari had to sustain loss of millions of taka last year due to not taking back of their kept potato sacks that the concern persons or parties kept there.
Bumper production and poor demand created the situation which caused immense debt to the cold storage owners along with the keepers and farmers too.
On the other hand current market price of potato is also very low. Potato of different varieties has been selling at Tk 8.0 to 12 per kg at the farm level against the production cost of Tk 14 to 15 per kg.
Faruk Hossain, an official of Ankur Cold Storage said his cold storage had to sustain loss of a huge amount last year and they have started storing potato this year against the hope to recoup lose they counted last year.
Abdul Rahman, a potato farmer of Itakhola union under Sadar upazila said he cultivated potatoes of a local variety on one bigha (30 decimal) of land where his production was 40 maunds.
DAE sources said over 18,869 hectares of land have been brought under the farming of potatoes with the productions target of 3,70,947 tonnes.
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