RANGPUR, Aug 22 (BSS): Adequate rainfall in recent days brought huge relief to the farmers and enabled them to harvest and rot jute easily side by side with transplanting Aman seedling everywhere in the northern districts.
The farmers have already completed harvesting jute on 0.19 million (1.92 lakh) hectares of land, which is 97.5 per cent of the total cultivated land area, and are very happy now getting better price of the fibre this season, official sources said.
The previous drought-like situation put jute farmers into uncertainty while moderate rainfall in recent days eased the situation enabling them to harvest and rot jute to get best quality fibre with better colour amid adequate rainwater all around now.
Currently, there is adequate rainwater in the low-lying areas everywhere for rotting the harvested jute plants and the harvest is expected to complete by this month end, officials at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and farmers said.
According to sources in the bigger jute markets, farmers, DAE, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), the newly harvested jute is being sold at rates between Tk 1,400 and 1,600 per maund (every 40 kg) depending on their varieties and quality.
Farmers Yasin Ali, Abdul Hamid and Rahim Uddin said they faced initial problem in rotting harvested jute plants and separating jute fibre in the beginning of the harvesting season due to drought-like situation and they are now doing the same easily.
Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said jute plants grew well amid favourable climatic condition and later, uncertainty gripped the growers due to the recent drought caused by adverse impacts of climate change.
Principal Scientific Officer of Rangpur Regional Station of the BJRI Dr Ayub Ali told BSS today that the farmers are happy now following adequate rainfall in recent days and they are getting better quality, grade and colour of the fibre with fair price now.
According to the DAE sources, a target of producing over 2.4 million bales of jute fibre from over 0.22 million hectares of land has been fixed for the current season in the northern districts.
However, the farmers have cultivated jute on about 0.19 million hectares of land this season in the northern districts, about 28,000 hectares or 13 per cent less than the fixed target of bringing over 0.22 million hectares of land under its cultivation.
Under the programme, the farmers have cultivated 'Tosha' variety jute on over 0.17 million hectares of land, 'Deshi' variety on 13,635 hectares, 'Mechhta' variety on 4,607 hectares and 'Kenaf' variety jute on 2,275 hectares of land this season.
