Bumper mustard yield in Tangail makes farmers happy

Farmers of all upazilas of Tangail districts are happy with the bumper yield of mustard this season. Harvest will begin within a few days.

The beekeepers are also passing a busy time collecting honey from the hive boxes placed by the mustard fields.

Due to the increased price of edible oil, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) took on a project to expand mustard cultivation in the district.

According to district DAE sources, the target of mustard cultivation was set on 52,120 hectares of land in the current season. As part of the mustard cultivation expansion project, farmers in the district received seeds and fertiliser as incentives.

Among them 7,258 hectares of land in Sadar upazila, 6,050 hectares of land in Basail, 4,140 hectares of land in Kalihati, 3,466 hectares of land in Ghatail, 11,586 hectares of land in Nagarpur, 11,611 hectares of land in Mirzapur, 712 hectares of land in Madhupur, 2,450 hectares of land in Bhuyapur, 4,610 hectares of land in Gopalpur, 2,490 hectares of land in Sakhipur, 3,187 hectares of land in Delduar, and 560 hectares of land in Dhanbari.

The farmers exceeded the target by 6,000 hectares and cultivated a total of 58,120 hectares of land.

The DAE distributed mustard seeds and fertilisers among 30,000 small and marginal farmers in upazilas and municipalities. The agricultural officials are providing all kinds of support to the farmers at the field level to prevent various types of diseases and natural disasters in mustard cultivation.

In various areas of Tangail Sadar, Madhupur, Dhanbari, Gopalpur, Kalihati, Bhuyapur and Gopalpur upazilas, fallow, uncultivated and abandoned lands have also been brought under mustard cultivation to compensate for the flood damage losses of last year.

Fazlul Haque of Choto Basalia village of Sadar upazila said in addition to the lands that remain submerged during monsoon, mustard has also been planted in yards and the land around the houses. Many have cultivated mustard on more land to compensate for the crop damage caused by the flood.

Abdur Rahim Mian, a farmer of Jhanjhaniya village, said they are apprehensive about the desired price as tillage and other costs are high even though the yield is high.

Professional honey collectors Kalam, Rajib, Abdul Haque and many others said they have come to the district from other parts of the country to collect honey.

However, while some of the farmers here cooperate with them, most of them do not allow hive boxes to be installed by the fields. Farmers do not understand the concept of pollination and how it results in better yield, they said.

Aminur Rahman of Ghoshpara of Tangail municipality has been bee-farming for over a decade. This year he has installed more than a hundred hive boxes in mustard fields.

Deputy Director of Tangail DAE, Agronomist Ahsanul Basar said, as the second largest district in the country it is their duty to come forward to heed the call of the PM to expand oil crop cultivation.

“To meet the edible oil shortage, we aim to increase mustard production by 15 per cent in the district. High-yielding varieties of mustard seeds and fertilisers have been distributed free of cost to about 30,000 small and marginal farmers in the district,” he said, adding that if the weather is favourable, they expect a bumper harvest this season.