The arum cultivation, a summer vegetable, has gained popularity among the farmers of Dhaperhat union in Sadullapur upazila in the district in recent years since the crop has given them good profit.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said over 200 hectares of arable and fallow lands of the union have been brought under commercial arum cultivation this year.
Arum grows within four months of its plantation and has a low production cost. As a result, its cultivation has increased in the union two times this year than the previous year.
Earlier, the farmers here used to cultivate arum on fallow lands for meeting their family demands, but now they are cultivating it commercially.
Abdus Samad, an arum cultivator of Khamarpara village, said different varieties of arum have been cultivated in the current season.
The harvest of the varieties started in the last month and the farmers have earned profit by selling those in local and wholesale markets, he added.
Mottaleb Miah, another farmer of Hingarpara Village in the union, said an arum cultivator could earn at least Tk7,000 from one bigha of land with a production cost of Tk1,500 only.
Shawkat Osman, additional deputy director of DAE, said arum cultivation requires no pesticides or fertilisers.
Terming the arum cultivation as environment-friendly, he said farmers of other unions were also being imparted training on arum cultivation.
Deputy Director of Gaibandha DAE AKM Ruhul Amin said all the Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officers here were directed to motivate the farmers for extensive arum cultivation.