Farmers have already exceeded the fixed production target of maize by 1.2 per cent after harvesting the crop on 97.22 per cent of cultivated land area in Rangpur agriculture region this season.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) had fixed a target of producing 10,51,747 tons of maize from 1,01,845 hectares of land for Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat in the region during the 2020-2021 Rabi season.
“Enthusiastic farmers finally cultivated maize on 1,01,335 hectares of land, less by only 510 hectares against the fixed farming target,” said Deputy Director of the DAE Bidhu Bhushan Roy.
Until Sunday, farmers harvested maize on 98,523 hectares of land, 97.2 per cent against the cultivated land area, and produced 10,64,432 tonnes of the crop, exceeding the production target by 12,685 tonnes in the region.
“The average yield rate of maize currently stands at 10.8 tonnes per hectare of land in the region where the total production of the crop might be around 10.94 lakh tonnes after completion of harvest this time,” Roy said.
Currently, farmers are getting excellent prices between Tk 800 and Tk 850 per maund (just over 37kg) of their newly harvested maize in local markets.
The government provided special incentives, high yielding varieties of maize seeds and fertilisers and latest technologies to small, marginal and flood-hit farmers to enhance maize cultivation.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said maize cultivation is expanding on both the mainland and char areas during the last 12 years in the region.
“Along with the farmers on the mainland, the char people are expanding cultivation of maize as a cash crop which is helping to alleviate poverty,” Rashid said.
Farmers Aminur Rahman, Abdul Khaleque, Mazharul Islam and Kafil Uddin of different villages under Rangpur Sadar upazila said they were selling newly harvested maize at better rates.
They expressed happiness over the present market price of maize that has huge demand in the animal husbandry, poultry and pisciculture and food industries sectors.
Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid said there are immense potentialities to further increase maize production through bringing the huge abandoned char lands of the northern region.
“Maize farming is more profitable than many other crops and farmers are increasing its cultivation using the latest conservation agriculture technologies to get better output at reduced costs,” he said.
He appreciated various initiatives taken by the government to enhance production of the low-irrigation water consuming cereal crop of maize to ensure food security amid changing climate.
