Home ›› 08 Apr 2023 ›› Front
Bangladesh produced 11.64 lakh tonnes of mustard oil seed in the current fiscal year of 2022-23 against a target of 11.12 tonnes due to a rise in acreage as well as high yield.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), farmers cultivated this pricy oil seed on 8.12 lakh hectares of land though the target was to cultivate on 6.70 lakh hectares.
The cultivable land size was up by 1.42 lakh hectares and production by 5 per cent from the targets, putting per hectare yield at 1.43 tonnes.
According to a DAE document, the government had set the target to produce 9.38 lakh tonnes from 6.70 lakh hectares. Another document showed that the target was later increased to 11.12 lakh tonnes after it was found that farmers are cultivating more land than the target.
The production increased by 3.4 lakh tonnes of mustard seed in FY23 compared to FY2021-22, when farmers produced 8.24 lakh tonnes.
Earlier, 7.87 lakh tonnes of mustard seeds were produced in FY2020-21, 7.50 lakh tonnes in FY2019-20 and 6.83 lakh tonnes in FY2018-19.
Also, mustard was cultivated on 6.10 lakh hectares of land in FY22, 5.89 lakh hectares in FY21, 5.69 lakh hectares in FY20 and 5.22 lakh hectares in FY19.
In FY23, the highest 93,980 tonnes were produced in Sirajganj; 78,128 tonnes in Naogaon; 71,068 in Tangail; 70,839 tonnes in Manikganj; and 69,758 in Rajshahi.
The highest per hectare yield — 1.65 tonnes — was recorded in Naogaon and Joypurhat while the lowest — 1 tonne — was recorded in Barguna, Patuakhali and Bhola.
Md Rezwan, a farmer from Shahjadpur upazila of Sirajganj, told The Business Post: “I cultivated mustard in five bighas of land and produced around 4.5 maunds from each bigha.
“I extracted around 40 kg oil from every 100 kg of seeds. The price of per kg oil is more than Tk 350 in the market now.”
“In future, I want to increase the land for mustard cultivation as this is now one of the most profitable crops in the country,” Rezwan said.
Around 3.50 to 4.42 lakh tonnes of oil can be extracted from 11.64 lakh tonnes of seeds as oil extraction varies 30-40 per cent from traditional to modern extraction methods.
DAE Director General Badal Chandra Biswas said that the country currently has an annual demand of 18 lakh tonnes of edible oil.
The government plans to meet 40 per cent of the demand with locally produced oil seed in three years, within FY2024-25, he added.
“Most of the oil will come from mustard seeds. Sunflowers and sesame are also showing potential with increased production. We are on the track and providing all kinds of support, including direct incentives, to the farmers,” he told The Business Post.
Moreover, sensing the demand, farmers themselves are showing more interest in mustard cultivation. DAE’s initiatives and farmers’ willingness both equally helped to exceed the target, he said.
