Mung bean cultivation allures Kurigram farmers

KURIGRAM, Jun 3 (UNB): Hundreds of acres of hitherto uncultivable, sandy char lands across the Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers in the district have been brought under mung bean cultivation by small and marginal farmers, thanks to the 'Thousand Farmers, Thousand Bighas' initiative kicked off in 2012.
Following good yields in its pilot cultivation under the initiative last year, one thousand farmers in Sadar, Bhurungamari and Nageshwari upazilas have taken up the cultivation of mung bean on one-bigha land each this year, and are expecting a bumper harvest within a few days.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) in association with Bangladesh Agricultural Research Foundation (BARF) introduced the crop on a pilot basis in 75-bigha lands in char areas of the upazilas mentioned above.
This year, one thousand bighas of char lands have been brought under mung bean cultivation (BARI Mung-6 variety) by the farmers and they are likely to get a satisfactory yield, according to experts and officials at BSMRAU and BARF.
BARI Mung 6 is a high-yielding variety and can be harvested within 60-65 days of planting.
The cultivation of mung bean, which is rhizomatous crop, is not only showing prospects of turning the fortune of larger number of small and marginal farmers in the district, but also proving to be a vital technical intervention to improve the sandy soils of the chars, Prof Abdul Karim of BSMRAU told UNB.
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Foundation (BARF) executive director M Nurul Alam said although the draught has slightly affected the crops in a few bigha lands, the overall output will be very satisfactory and more char lands will be brought under mung bean cultivation in the coming season.
Mung bean farmer Yasin Ali of Nidhiram Char in Sadar upazila said he along with many others in the village is set to harvest a good yield of mung bean this year.
"The lands we've cultivated used to produce nothing but Kash (rhizomatous grass). But now we'll get a yield of at least 4-5 mound mung bean per bigha," he said.
Meherul Haque, another mung bean farmer in Nidhiram Char, said he has spent about Tk 2,000 on the cultivation on one bigha land, and will earn at least Tk 8,000-10,000 from the crop at the current market price.