Winter vegetable cultivation is going on in full swing in the country as farmers target getting 9.2 million tonnes of produces on 0.5 million hectares of land this season.
The output was a record 8.8 million tonnes in the last Rabi season (winter) from 0.449 million hectares of land, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) data revealed.
In vegetable farming, Rajshahi agricultural region is ahead this season with a target to grow nearly 1.4 million tonnes at 78,000 hectares of land while Jessore region has targeted to cultivate vegetable at 67,000 hectares followed by Dhaka 55,000 and Rangpur 52,000 hectares.
The farmers in the country are now busy sowing seeds and planting saplings in their crop lands. Household yards are also involved in vegetable cultivation.
Mujibur Rahman, a farmer at Shaitalia village under Sreepur upazila in Gazipur district told the FE that he bought cabbage and cauliflower seed at Tk 2,000.
"I've already sown the seeds. Many of my fellow farmers have planted tomato, radish and local bean," he said.
"My wife has spanned vegetable leaf seeds in our yard," he said.
Kishoreganj growers also set to get profits from early winter vegetables.
DAE Kisoreganj officials said 7,500 hectares of land in the district have been brought under vegetable farming in the current season with a production target of 120,000 tonnes.
Md Aminur Rahman, a farmer at Bishwanathpur village in Hossainpur upazila of the district, said he produced cabbages and cauliflowers on his 3 bighas of land last year and sold crops worth Tk220000 which helped him make a Tk150000 profit.
"I've targeted growing vegetable on 5 bighas of land this year," he said.
Topu Raihan, an agriculture expert and director of Prakritik Krishi, an organisation that works on organic farming said that they have started 'Rabi crop' farming at Kaliganj under Jhenidha district.
Farmers in this region have started cultivating long bean, jhar sheem (an indigenous bean variety), pea etc.
Mr Raihan also predicted that re-inundation of many areas in the country, especially in parts of Nilphamari, Kurigram, Gainbandha, Jamalpur, Bogra, Natore, Naogaon, Sunamganj might affect the overall production.
Mir Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, deputy director at DAE Gainbandha district, said that the farmers were trying to recoup with the losses by cultivating pulse seed, vegetable leaf.
"But the recent flood have hampered their efforts," he said.
According to DAE, the country produced a record 12.5 million tonnes of vegetables in the last financial year (FY'14) of which winter season (Rabi) provides 8.8 million tonnes and summer (Kharif-1 and 2) 3.7 million tonnes.
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