Rangpur farmers exceed potato cultivation target

Farmers have already exceeded the fixed potato cultivation target by 0.19 per cent in the Rangpur agriculture region, where sowing of its seeds continues during this Rabi season.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said a bumper potato production is likely as the harvest of its early varieties continues with excellent yield rates in the region.

Market sources said farmers got excellent prices between Tk 35 and Tk 50 per kg depending on varieties of potatoes at the beginning of the harvest of early varieties of potatoes from late November last.

However, farmers are currently getting comparatively lower prices between Tk eight and 20 per kg of potatoes amid a huge supply of the newly harvested potatoes in local markets.

The DAE officials said a target of producing 23.67 lakh tonnes of potato had been fixed from 93,350 hectares of land for all five districts in the region this season.

“Meanwhile, farmers have already brought 97,305 hectares of land under potato cultivation crossing the fixed farming target by 0.19 per cent,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md. Mahbubur Rahman said.

Farmers will continue sowing potato seeds till this month-end alongside harvesting early varieties of potatoes in all five districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat in the region.