By using scientific farming methods, the farmers of Sylhet and Moulvibazar haor areas have been cultivating high-yielding potatoes over the last few years and getting good profit, according to local sources.
There are 106 varieties of potatoes in the country and out of those, only 18 to 21 varieties are high-yielding.
With new agricultural technology and the cultivation of new high-yielding varieties, people in the haor regions are developing their economic conditions. Habibur Rahman Jalal is one of them.
Once, Jalal migrated abroad in search of livelihood. After returning to the country, he has been working as a full-fledged agricultural entrepreneur in the Giasnagar village of Moulvibazar Sadar. He became well-known among people by cultivating 21 varieties of potatoes simultaneously.
Visiting Habibur Rahman Jalal's agricultural farm, this correspondent found that there were various coloured and shaped potatoes stacked in a tin-shed house. The potatoes brought from the field are round and elongated, and some are reddish and yellowish in colour. Each variety is labelled with a signboard indicating its name.
Jalal said that all the potatoes from the field had been harvested. A certain amount of the potatoes will be preserved for seeds and the remaining of those will be sold.
He further said that for several years he has been cultivating different varieties of local and foreign varieties of rice, including coloured rice. He has a keen interest in new agricultural technologies and new varieties.
Last year, he cultivated 12 varieties of potatoes. Due to the good yield, he decided to cultivate potatoes commercially. This year, with the assistance of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) and the Akbarpur Regional Agricultural Research Centre in Moulvibazar, he cultivated potatoes on about 150 decimals of the land. Combining old and new varieties, he has cultivated 21 varieties of potatoes this year.
Due to bad weather at the beginning of the season, potato seed planting had to be delayed by a month to the end of December. Despite the late planting and early-year rains, he achieved a good yield.
Out of the 21 varieties of potatoes, 18 varieties were supplied by the Agricultural Research Centre. These included Bari-25 (Asterix), 40, 41, 46, 47,48, 49, 50, 53 (LB-6), 62, 63, 77 (Sarpo Mira), 78, 79, 87, 88, 90 ( Alouette) and 91 (Carolus). In addition, there were three older varieties of potato seeds. Among these, Bari-78 and 47 had the best yield.
Habibur Rahman Jalal said, “After planting the seeds in the field, regular care, including fertilising, is necessary. These potato varieties are less susceptible to disease or insect attacks. However, this time many plants died due to rain. The potatoes did not grow as big as expected. Despite those obstacles, the yield has been good.”
Jalal added, “Even if the local variety potato produces a very good yield on one decimal of land, it amounts to a maximum of 20-25 kg. But these new varieties have produced 160-170 kg. However, this time due to bad weather the cost of production has increased. Due to dense fog and rain, there was pest and insect infestation. As a result, fungicides have to be used frequently. It costs about Tk 2,500 per decimal of land. Despite this, the profit margin was almost double."
Moulvibazar’s Akbarpur Regional Agricultural Research Centre Scientific Officer Md Abdul Majed Mia said, "Last time, Habibur Rahman Jalal was given seeds of 10 varieties. Since the yield was good, he distributed seeds among other farmers. This time, he was given seeds of 18 varieties. Farmers don't cultivate all varieties; they grow what produces the most."
