Rangpur farmers busy cultivating early-harvest potatoes

Farmers in Rangpur region are cultivating a fast-growing variety of potato in order to maximise their profits before the year ends.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers have started sowing potato seeds after harvesting short duration varieties of Aman rice to harvest those from late November and earn more profits like in the previous years.

The government has fixed an all-time record target of producing 23, 39,930 tonnes of potato from 92,675 hectares of land for all five districts in Rangpur agriculture region during the current Rabi season, said the DAE sources.

Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Mohammad Shah Alam said sowing potato seeds will get further momentum with the progress in Aman rice harvesting and continue till December next.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and other related organisations have started assisting farmers to make the intensive potato farming programme a success.

“Tender plants of early varieties of potato are growing wonderfully on crop fields both in the mainland and riverine char areas amid favourable climatic conditions across the region,” Alam said.

Deputy Director (Leave Reserved) of the DAE at Khamarbari in Dhaka Abu Sayem said the DAE, BADC and other agriculture-related organisations have taken steps to provide quality potato seeds to the farmers for successful potato cultivation this season.

“Field level officials of the DAE, other agriculture-related organisations and some NGOs are providing latest technologies to farmers for proper sowing of potato seeds and nursing tender potato plants to get maximum yield,” he said.

Farmers of different villages and Chandanpat union under Rangpur sadar upazila said that they are sowing early varieties of potato seeds after harvesting short duration Aman rice from the first week of the current month.

Farmers Mozammel Hossain, Akhil Chandra and Nurul Islam of Badarganj upazila in Rangpur said they have already completed sowing of early varieties of potato seeds and are expecting to harvest their cultivated potato from late November next.

Vegetable trader Hafizur Rahman at Rangpur City Bazar and Fazlur Rahman at Keranipara Kitchen Market in the city said early varieties of potato might appear from the middle of November next in the local markets.

Independence Award-2018 (food security) winner Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid appreciated different initiatives taken by the government to assist farmers in enhancing production of potato and other winter crops during the current Rabi season.

Rangpur Chamber President of Mostafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu stressed on establishing more agro-based industries in Rangpur region for preserving, producing and enhancing export of potato products to ensure fair prices of potato for farmers.

Rangpur region produces the country’s highest quantity of potato every year creating a brighter prospect for local and foreign investors to set up agro- based industries to produce a variety of potato products and fetch local and global markets, he added