Home ›› 22 Jan 2022 ›› Nation
Banana cultivation has become popular both in the mainland and riverine char areas bringing fortune to many farmers alongside meeting their nutrition in the Rangpur agriculture region.
Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md. Mahbubur Rahman said farmers have so far cultivated bananas on 2,724 hectares of land in the region during the current Rabi season.
Transplantation of banana saplings will continue till this month-end in the region where farmers cultivated bananas on 2,559 hectares of land during the last Rabi season.
As a result of motivational activities being conducted by the DAE and other agriculture-related organizations, farmers are enhancing banana cultivation as a cash crop every year to reap more profits.
“Braving the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers are showing more interest in farming bananas and other fruits, especially during the last two years, to meet their nutrition, public nourishment, and enhance immunity against the deadly virus,” he said.
The field level DAE officials are assisting farmers and providing technical support to expand the cultivation of ‘Meher Sagar,’ ‘Sobri’, and other varieties of banana on more lands in the region.
Many small and marginal farmers and landless char and riverside people have cultivated bananas in all upazilas of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, and Nilphamari districts in the region this season.
In Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram alone, char and riverside people have cultivated bananas on 225 acres of char lands in Bamondanga, Berubari, Raiganj, Kochakata, Bolloverkhas, Kaliganj, and Bhitorband unions this season.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said boosting banana cultivation effectively contributes to rural people’s economic development.
The DAE and some NGOs are assisting farmers and providing the latest technologies for expanding the cultivation of bananas as a profitable cash crop on both mainland and char areas to improve their livelihoods and living standard.
