Peanut brings smile to Manikganj farmers

The farmers of char areas in Daulatpur, Shibalaya and Harirampur upazilas of Manikganj district are happy getting bumper output of peanutas its harvesting has started on the barren chars during the current Kharif-1 season.

With the rising of water level of the Jamuna and Padma rivers, the char area of the three upazilas of the district is continuing to inundate. So the peanut cultivators are passing busy time to harvest their products from the low land.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials here said that the peanut is generally cultivated on the sandy land.

Experimentally, some local farmers started cultivation of peanut on their barren land which would remain fallow all over the year in the char areas for the last few years, they said, adding that seeing their success, a number of farmers now are cultivating peanut in the vast char areas of the Jamuna and the Padma rivers.

The char farmers are getting fair prices of the crop between Tk. 2500 and 3000 per maund as per its quality while it has high demand in the local markets.

DAE office sources said they set a target of peanut cultivation on 2600 hectares of land in the chars of three upazilas of the district, but more than 2700 hectares of land has already been cultivated during the Kharif-1 season, exceeding its fixed target.

Rifazuddin, one of the peanut cultivators of Char kalikapur of Baghutia union of Daulatpur upazila, said he had cultivated peanut on two bighas of land this season and was getting expected production and prices.

Md Haidar Ali, another peanut cultivator of Harirampur upazila said peanut cultivation is gaining popularity in the char areas as it grows in the sandy barren land and it needs no irrigation and fertilizer.

Now the peanut became one of the cash crops for the char people, he said adding that peanut is cultivated twice in the year in the winter and summer seasons.