The farmers have produced 39,884 tonnes of sweet potato in all five districts under Rangpur agriculture region during the Rabi season, reports BSS.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and market sources said farmers are happy with market price of the newly harvested sweet potato between Tk 900 and Tk 1,000 per every 40 kg (maund) depending on varieties and qualities.
The DAE had fixed a target of producing 49,635 tonnes of sweet potato from 2,660 hectares of land for Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts in the region this time.
However, farmers had cultivated the crop on 1,780 hectares of land less by 980 hectares of land than the fixed farming target due to crop diversification and cultivation of winter vegetables, maize and potato on more land this time.
Horticulture Specialist of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said many char people are farming sweet potato on sandy-barren and char land side by side with farmers in the mainland.
"The sandy-loamy and sandy land is suitable for sweet potato farming. So, there is a brighter prospect of enhancing cultivation of the low-cost crop without using fertilisers and irrigation on char land," Islam added.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said production of sweet potato could be increased largely by imparting training, providing latest technologies and easy-term agri-loans to char people.
Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office Md. Moniruzzaman said an adult person can meet daily demand of 13 gram vitamin-A by consuming a single sweet potato.
The people of Philippines and Papua New Guinea, some African and Latin American countries consume sweet potato as alternative to rice while in the USA and Japan it is widely used as food, he added.
