Rangpur's impoverished farmers become financially solvent

OUR CORRESPONDENT
RANGPUR, Apr 28: Thousands of impoverished farmers, including landless people of Rangpur, have become financially solvent by cultivating crops along the fertile riverbanks, or char areas, on both sides of Teesta, Ghaghat, Jamuneswari, and other rivers.
Farmers have been cultivating paddy, wheat, maize, lentils, peanut, onion, garlic, chilli and even tobacco on the banks of these rivers in mostly Gangachara and Kaunia upazilas. Vegetables grown include pumpkin, squash, tomato, sweet potato, etc.
Rabiul, a farmer of Shankardaha village of Gangachara Upazila in Rangpur, told the FE that he has been earning a satisfactory profit from Boro paddy cultivation on a char area for the past several years. He cultivated Boro on two bighas this year, up from his last year's production on a single bigha. He said he was inspired to expand his cultivation this year due to the low production cost.
Some growers said receding water from the riverbanks enabled farmers to grow crops lucratively without the use of any chemical fertiliser and investing a small amount of money. Sources at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said around 9,000 hectares of such char lands have been brought under crop farming this year. The lands do not require chemical fertilisers for nutrition as flood makes the soil alluvial every year.
Masum, a farmer of Morneya area under Gangachhara Upazila, said he has been cultivating onion, garlic, pumpkin on the riverbanks for the past three years and has been earning a satisfactory profit.
Sohrab Mia, a farmer of Haragachh area in Kaunia Upazila, said he cultivated maize, tobacco, onion and sweet potato on an acre of land on the Teesta riverbank. "Growing crops in char land costs less and ensures more profit," he also said.
Md Sirajul Islam, additional director, DAE Rangpur region, said, "We have been supporting the char farmers in various ways for cultivating crops on the riverbanks. They are being brought under incentives."
Seeds, fertilisers, other inputs and necessary advices are being given to the growers to ensure expected yield, he added.
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