Farming of some non-traditional crops like peanuts has been on the rise in the greater Sylhet region as many farmers are getting interested in those for better returns.
This year, peanut has been cultivated on 1,726 hectares of land in Sunamganj and on 373 hectares of land in the three other districts of the division.
The farmers have harvested 3,673 tonnes of peanuts in the division this season.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Sylhet regional office Deputy Director Md Kazi Mojibur Rahman said the soil of the region is suitable for peanut cultivation.
“More farmers are becoming interested in peanut cultivation nowadays. Peanuts are cultivated the most in Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj district,” he said, adding that the interest of farmers in peanut cultivation has increased due to low cost and high profit.
“There is a lot of fallow land in Sylhet. Different types of vegetables and crops including nuts can be grown on the lands if desired. This will increase production and boost income,” Kazi Mojibur added.
The official further added that the DAE will provide free seeds and fertilisers as incentives to interested peanut farmers.
Farmer Abdul Alim of Sunamganj’s Tahirpur upazila said the cost of peanut cultivation is relatively low. This year, he got a bumper yield of peanuts.
“We plough the soil, sow the seeds and apply urea fertiliser. Peanuts are comparatively low-effort crops. And they require less fertilisers and pesticides than paddy fields,” he said.
Nobin Hossain, another farmer of the upazila, said the peanut harvest of the current season has already ended.
“Peanuts are harvested in a shared system. The worker gets one-eighth of the harvest and while the farm owner gets the other seven,” he added.
According to DAE sources, this year 234 kg of peanuts have been harvested per bigha and 1.75 tonnes per hectare. Most have been cultivated in Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj.
Peanuts are currently being sold at Tk 100 per kg, or Tk 4,000 per maund in the upazila. Traders from different parts of the country are buying the nuts directly from the field. These nuts are sold at more than Tk 200 per kg in the retail market.
Farmers sell Tk 23,400 worth of peanuts per bigha. According to agriculture officials, the production cost is Tk 10,000 per bigha, and the rest is the farmers’ profit.
A small amount of agri-incentives was distributed this year by the DAE.
DAE sources said peanuts were cultivated on 1,726 hectares in Sunamganj district, 155 hectares in Sylhet district, 62 hectares in Moulvibazar district and 156 hectares in Habiganj district.
However, the agriculture department could not meet the target of peanut cultivation in Sylhet and Habiganj districts.
In Sunamganj Sadar, BARI-8 variety of peanuts has been cultivated on 15 hectares of land, BARI-9 variety on 10 hectares of land and BARI-4 variety on 10 hectares of land adding up to a total of 35 hectares.
In Dowarabazar upazila, BARI-5 variety of peanuts has been cultivated on 15 hectares of land, BARI-6 variety on 15 hectares of land and Maijchar (Dhaka) variety on 10 hectares of land adding up to a total of 40 hectares.
In Bishwamvarpur upazila, BARI-8 variety of peanuts has been cultivated on 61 hectares of land and Maijchar (Dhaka) variety on 20 hectares of land adding up to a total of 81 hectares.
In Jagannathpur upazila, Maijchar (Dhaka) variety of peanuts has been cultivated on 10 hectares of land. And in Jamalganj upazila, BARI-5 variety of peanuts has been cultivated on 23 hectares of land and BARI-6 variety on 27 hectares of land adding up to a total of 50 hectares of land.
In Tahirpur upazila, peanuts have been cultivated on 1,475 hectares of land. Among this, BARI-8 variety of peanuts has been cultivated on 232 hectares of land, BARI-9 variety on 563 hectares of land and BARI-4 variety on 135 hectares of land and Maijchar (Dhaka) variety on 238 hectares of land.
Furthermore, 10 hectares of BARI-4 variety have been cultivated in Dharmapasha upazila, 20 hectares of Bashanti variety in Chhatak upazila, and five hectares of Tridhana variety have been cultivated in Derai upazila.
