4,94,427 tonnes summer vegetables produced in Rangpur

Some 4, 94,427 tonnes of summer vegetables have been produced in the just-concluded Kharif-1 season in Rangpur agriculture region.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers achieved bumper output of summer vegetables braving the Covid-19 pandemic and got fair prices of the produce.

Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing over 4, 07,101 lakh tonnes of summer vegetables from 22,030 hectares of land for all five districts in Rangpur agriculture region during the last Kharif-1 season.

“However, farmers cultivated summer vegetables on 26,365 hectares of land exceeding the fixed farming target by 4,335 hectares or 19.68 percent,” Agriculturist Bidhu Bhusan Ray, Additional Director of the DAE, Rangpur region said.

Farmers cultivated summer vegetables on 9,480 hectares of land in Rangpur, 4,780 hectares in Gaibandha, 4,820 hectares in Lalmonirhat, 2,475 hectares in Nilphamari and 4,810 hectares of land in Kurigram districts.

“After completing harvest last week, farmers produced 4,94,427 tonnes of vegetables exceeding the fixed production target by 87,326 tonnes or 21.45 per cent at an excellent average yield rate of 18.75 tonnes per hectare of land,” Ray said.

The DAE and other organisations and institutes, commercial banks and NGOs supplied high quality seeds, inputs, easy-term agri-loans and assistance to farmers to make the intensive summer vegetables cultivation programme a success.

After getting repeated bumper production with rewarding prices, farmers are cultivating vegetables on more lands and many of them have achieved self- reliance from farming vegetables thrice during the Rabi, Kharif-1 and Kharif- 2 seasons annually.

“At the same time, farmers have cultivated vegetables on 13,950 hectares of land during the current Kharif-2 season in the region and already harvested on 3,370 hectares of land producing 56,143 tonnes of vegetables till Tuesday,” Ray added.

Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid today told BSS that farming of vegetables on crop lands, homesteads and char areas has already become a profitable venture for farmers.

“Braving the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers had cultivated summer vegetables successfully during the Kharif-1 season and achieved a bumper production in the region,” Rashid added.

Vegetable-trader Hafizur Rahman at Rangpur City Bazar today said farmers sold summer vegetables between Taka 20 and Taka 60 per kg on an average depending on varieties and quality to the middlemen.

“The retail prices were, however, higher by Tk 15 per kg on an average in local markets as some vegetables perished during the transportation and marketing process,” Hafizur said.

Vegetable farmers Manik Miah, Alfaz Hossain, Ariful Haque, Meher Ali, Solaiman Ali, Abdur Rahman and Dulal Chandra Roy of different villages in Rangpur Sadar said they got a super bumper production of summer vegetables.

Farmer Dulal Mian of Char Harin Sharma village in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur said he is harvesting vegetables cultivated during the current Kharif-2 season after completing harvest of vegetables cultivated during the current Kharif-1 season.

Farmer Aminul Islam of village Chandrakhana in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram said he completed harvesting and reaped better profits by selling his cultivated summer vegetables on one bigha of land during the last Kharif-1 season.