RAJBARI, Dec 17: The farmers of the district are becoming interested in increased cultivation of winter vegetables to earn extra profit.
The farmers here mainly in rural areas are seen working round the clock in their fields for cultivating winter vegetables.
They are growing different vegetables including cauliflower, gourd, cabbage, bean, brinjal, radish, potato, pumpkin, chilli, tomato and others.
The local farmers think that the cultivation of vegetable is more profitable than the cultivation of others crops. For this reason, massive initiative to cultivate more vegetables across the district has been taken in this season.
The farmers are getting expected output of vegetables. A good number of poor people at different villages of the district are now interested in the cultivation of different vegetables on fallow lands and even on homesteads to earn some extra.
Most of the people living at remote villages on Padma River basin char areas in the district are now getting disinterested to the cultivation of regular crops like paddy or wheat. But some years back, they had cultivated paddy and wheat on more lands round the year. At that time, they faced different kind of problems including pest attack on their lands. But, now they know how to resist the pest attack.
Sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Rajbari said around 5,152 acres of land at 24 unions in five upazilas of the district were brought under the cultivation of different vegetables last year. This year, several thousand farmers are cultivating winter vegetables at 40 remote villages including Chotobhakla, Katakhali, Keutil, Daulatdia, Char Daulatdia, Ujanchar, Betka, Charbetka, Khankhanapur, Basantapur, Ramkantopur, Baharpur, Islampur, Belgachhi, Khanganj, Chadani, Mizanpur, Dhawapara, Baliadangi, Maguradangi, Charbethuri, Mohammadpur, Indranarayanpur, Moheeshbathan, Mathipara, Banibaha, Habaspur, Koidanga, Gopalpur, Barat, Jowkura, Lalgola, Kalitala.
Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Rokibul Islam said the local farmers are cultivating different vegetables on most of the abandoned lands for making high profit.
Some years ago, many farmers at these villages were poor as they did not involve themselves in agriculture much. But now, the situation is opposite as they got interested to cultivate more crops on more lands and are getting more profit. The farmers are not leaving any land fallow at these villages.
A vegetable farmer Shafiqul Islam, 50, of Katakhali Village under Chhotobakhla Union in Goalanda Upazila of the district was found to cultivate winter vegetables on his land.
Another farmer Rahim Sikder of Sadar Upazila said, "I started cultivating vegetables on one acre of abandoned land beside my regular land in 2010. I cultivated bean on one acre of land this year and got three to four maunds of bean every day. I am selling the produce at Tk 40 to 50 per kg in local markets. Not only this, I am cultivating different kinds of vegetables on my abandoned land round the year and earning much profit."
He, however, said that some years back, he used to cultivate wheat and paddy but did not profit much, and so had to face much economic crisis.
Another farmer Alimuddin Mondal, 65, of the same village said, "Once I depended on paddy and wheat farming but never maintained my family well. After taking advice from the local agriculture officials, I started cultivating vegetables on the lands."
Deputy Director of the DAE here Mohammad Golam Kibria said, "It is good news that different vegetables are now being cultivated on all the abandoned lands. Once upon a time, the local farmers used to depend on paddy and wheat cultivation only, but now they have changed their ideas and are getting good profit from vegetables farming. The agriculture officials are always supporting them both technically and methodically to help them cultivate more vegetables on their lands."
