Rajshahi farmers find potato cultivation lucrative

FE Team | Published: December 30, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Our Correspondent
RAJSHAHI, Dec 29: Encouraged by a satisfactory price of potato last year, hundreds of farmers of Paba, Mohanpur, Puthia, Durgapur and Godagari upazilas of the district have cultivated potato covering a huge areas of land this year.
It is learnt, farmers of the district have already completed sowing of potato seeds in more than 90 percent of their targeted land. Some early varieties of potato are already in the market and are being sold at a high price. Last year, the price of potato varied from Tk 1,900 to 1,300 per sack ( 100 klogram) and this year, the price of newly harvest potato is varying from Tk 2,400 to 3,000 per sack. Even after storing potato at the cold storages and selling those afterwards, farmers earned a satisfactory price last year and this year selling those before storing at the cold storages farmers were earning double the profit than that of previous year.
Sources informed, the weather for potato cultivation in the district being favourable till now there will be a bumper production of potato during this season.
President's Award winner potato farmer Rahim Uddin Sarker of Borogachhi area informed, he and his sons have cultivated potato on 80-bigha of land. He hoped for a bumper harvest of potato during the current season if the weather situation remained favourable.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) sources in Rajshahi informed, target for cultivation of potato has been taken up at 34,552 hectares of land during the current season whereas last year, potato was cultivated on 36,900 hectares of land.
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Grassroots vocational training
for distressed women
A BSS report says: Many of the Union Parishads (UPs) in the district have been imparting different types of need-oriented trainings towards the distressed women for their economic emancipation through income generation activities.
The local government bodies are implementing different vocational training courses to enhance women's skills and providing support services to promote their participation in the workforce.
Besides the training, they are extending financial supports and necessary inputs so that they can utilize the knowledge acquired from the training for improving their living and livelihood condition.
Damkura UP under Paba Upazila has already given training to more than 75 underprivileged women in three batches. They were also given financial assistance and necessary inputs like swing machines.
Chairman Sajahan Ali said three women members of the UP had submitted a list of distressed women in their respective areas to the UP and they were imparted training on priority basis. In phases, more other disadvantaged women will be brought under training, he informed.