Rangpur farmers set sight on early winter vegetables

RANGPUR, Oct 20: With a hope to earn a good profit, farmers are making utmost efforts to produce early winter vegetables in different areas of the district this season.
Sources said growers are disappointed with lack of rain as sufficient rain helps them gear up the farming of early winter vegetables.
This year, early winter vegetables are being cultivated plentifully in many areas of the district, including Palichara, Kukrul, Deuti and Nabdiganj, Soudpara Mandrain, Chan-gmari, Ranipukur, Jaigirhat, Pairaband, Bairagiganj, Ikorchali, Baniapara Alam-pur, Vendabari, Projapara, Haragachh, Mirbagh, Khansama, Nagerhat and Kutubpur.
While visiting different areas of the district this FE correspondent has found that farmers busy taking care of their fields of early winter vegetables with much enthusiasm.
Presently, peasants are cultivating radish, cauliflower, cabbage, bean, eggplant, bottle gourd, cucumber, tomato, carrot and leafy vegetables etc.
Rafiqul Islam, a grower of Rupshi village under Ran-ipukur union at Mithapukur upazila in the district, told The Financial Express that he cultivated radish on around 40 decimals of land this season, spending around Tk 40,000 and is hoping for achieving a profit of Tk 120,000.
He said due to early harvest they are expecting a good price of their produces.
Rubel Mia, a vegetable cultivator of Palichara village under Rangpur Sadar upazila, told the FE he cultivated bean on 35 decimals of land and is expecting a profit of over Tk 100,000.
He also expressed satisfaction over the growth of his produce.
He said last year he as well as other growers of early winter vegetables of his area earned a good profit from the sales of their produces which encouraged many of them to expand the cultivation area of the vegetables in order to achieve handsome profit this year as well.
Sources said every year, early winter vegetables produced in the district are sent to different areas of the country, including Dhaka, Chat-togram because of higher demand.
According to the Depa-rtment of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Ran-gpur, official sources said this season the cultivation target of winter vegetables is around 13,100 hectares of land in eight upazilas under the district.
Of the total, around 2,000 hectares of land have been brought under the farming of early winter vegetables.
DAE Deputy Director (Rangpur) Md Reaz Uddin told The Financial Express that farmers prefer the cultivation of early winter vegetables to make huge profits. Due to higher prices of vegetables, farmers show enthusiasm about cultivating early winter vegetables.
Growers are being given required advice and technical assistance by the DAE so that they can get expected yield, he added.

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