Rangpur likely to produce over 53 tonnes of mustard

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing 53,733 tonnes of mustard from 38,710 hectares of land for Rangpur agriculture region during the current (2021- 2022) Rabi season.

The DAE officials said farmers cultivated mustard on 38,433 hectares of land and produced 51,542 tonnes of mustard in all five districts of the region during the last 2020-2021 Rabi season.

“The fixed production target of 53,733 tonnes of mustard for this season is higher by 2,191 tonnes than the production of 51,542 tonnes of the last season,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Tauhidul Iqbal said.

Enthusiastic farmers may exceed the fixed mustard farming target in the region during the current season getting special government incentives to recoup the crop losses they incurred during recent floods.

“The farmers are mostly cultivating high yielding varieties of mustard like Tori 7, BARI-9, BARI-14, BARI-15 and BINA-4 on more land this time like in the previous seasons in the region,” Iqbal said.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) and Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) are extending assistance to farmers to make the mustard cultivation programme a success.

Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid today told BSS that mustard farming has become popular both on the vast riverine char areas and mainland in the last 13 years.

Sowing of mustard seeds on riverine char land of the Dharla, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Kartoa, Atrai, Jamuna and other rivers continues in full swing now and the process will get full momentum with the progress of Aman rice harvest on the mainland.

“Farmers are expanding cultivation of mustard on more land both on the mainland and char areas after getting repeated bumper output adopting the newer cropping pattern and lucrative market prices reaping high profits in recent years,” Rashid added.

Farmers Sekendar Ali, Sahanur Rahman, Mofazzal Hossain and Mokhlesur Rahman of Rangpur Sadar upazila said they are sowing mustard seeds after harvesting short duration of Aman rice on the same land amid favourable climatic conditions.

Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Mahbubur Rahman predicted a bumper production of mustard this season as farmers are bringing more land under cultivation of the highly profitable cash crop across the region.