Rangpur produces 42,802 tonnes sweet potato

Farmers have produced an all-time record 42,802 tonnes of sweet potato in all five districts under Rangpur agriculture region during the just-ended 2022-2023 Robi season.

Meanwhile, farmers are happy getting high prices of sweet potato between Tk 1,400 and Tk 1,550 per mound (every 40 kgs) in local markets depending on varieties and quality to reap rewarding profits.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said, a target to produce 44,426 tonnes of sweet potato from 1,957 hectares of land was fixed for Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts in the region.

However, farmers cultivated the crop on 1,641 hectares of land, less by 316 hectares of land against the fixed farming target, due to cultivation of winter vegetables, maize and potato on more land.

After completing harvest recently, farmers produced an all-time record 42,802 tonnes of sweet potato this time, higher by 5,651 tonnes against the production of 37,151 tonnes of the crop achieved during the previous 2021-2022 Robi season in the region.

Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Md. Aftab Hossain said char and riverside people and farmers are expanding cultivation of highly profitable sweet potato in sandy-barren char lands and mainland every year.

“The sandy-loamy and sandy lands are suitable for sweet potato farming which requires no fertilisers and irrigation water,” he said.

Landless Anwar Hossain, Majibar Rahman and Abul Kashem of village Char Mohipur in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur said they cultivated sweet potato in sandy char lands and got

bumper production with lucrative prices this time.