Rajshahi groundnut growers eye high yield

RAJSHAHI, Apr 06 (BSS): Growers are dreaming of good groundnut yield as they are enjoying suitable weather since sowing stage of the cash crop here in the current season.
Royez Uddin and Ahammed Ali, two farmers of Char Mazar Diar under Paba Upazila, have jointly putchased five bighas of land under groundnut farming this season.
Suitable weather and couple of rains help healthy growth of plants which are now at fruit setting stage. The farmers are expecting cherished yield if the crop does not face any natural disaster till harvest.
Royez Uddin said sandy land is suitable for groundnut farming. For this reason, cultivation of the crop were mostly taking place in Padma riverbeds in Rajshahi. He said farmers of the areas are now showing interest to cultivate groundnuts on more land.
The government has extended training, fertiliser and seed to the farmers in order to expand groundnut cultivation in the region.
Monjurul Haque, district training officer of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), says groundnut cultivation becomes popular among the farmers in char areas of the district. Groundnut can be cultivated on sandy land. So farmers can earn profit as cultivation cost is low.
He mentioned that 363 hectares of land in Padma char have been brought under nut cultivation this year while it was 120 hectares last year.
The DAE is encouraging farmers in nut cultivation.
Agriculturist Haque said about Tk 5,000 are generally spent for groundnut cultivation per bigha of land, from where five to six maunds of groundnut can be grown.
Groundnut farmer Golam Mustafa said last year he cultivated nut in one bigha of land and earned Tk 10,000. This year, they cultivated nut in three bighas of land. If the weather remains favourable, the farmers expect bumper yield.
Talking to the news agency Sharmin Sultana, upazila agriculture officer in Paba, said nut cultivation has increased in char areas beside the Padma River. They supplied seeds to the farmers on behalf of the DAE to encourage them in nut cultivation.
Shamsul Haque, Deputy Director of the DAE, says nut cultivation is increasing in Padma char areas in Godagari, Paba, Charghat and Bagha upazilas of the district. The government offered free seedlings and training on proper nut cultivation techniques, which will help them expand the cultivation.
Groundnut is generally cultivated on sandy land. Some local farmers started to cultivate groundnut, on an experimental basis, on their barren land which remain uncultivated all the year in this char areas for last few years.
On their success, a number of farmers now are cultivating groundnut as cash crop in the vast char areas. The char farmers are getting reasonable price of the crop.
He said around 64 bighas of land was brought under the crop cultivation in Char Mazar Diar and Char Khidirpur areas this season. Till now, the farming remains in satisfactory condition.
Farming one bigha of land require cost of five thousand takaand that can give yield eight to ten tons. Farmers become benefited if they can sell their harvested crop at Tk 1,500 per mound, said Agriculturist Haque.