Like every year, mustard cultivation without tillage has expanded widely in Sariakandi upazila of Bogra this season as well. Farmers are now preparing to harvest the additional crop from fallow lands during the off-season.
Favourable weather conditions have resulted in good yield, and news of attractive market prices has brought smiles to farmers’ faces.
According to local sources, farmers in several areas of Sariakandi upazila cultivate paddy only during two seasons—Boro and Aman. During the three-month gap between these two seasons, large tracts of arable land usually remain fallow.
For the past few years, however, farmers have been cultivating mustard on these lands instead of leaving them unused. As a result, they are gaining an additional harvest and making considerable profits.
Most farmers are cultivating mustard without ploughing the land, which significantly reduces production costs. Some farmers prepare the land with one or two light ploughings.
Mustard plants sown a few days ago have now grown well and are bearing pods with healthy grains. The crop is expected to mature within a few days. Farmers will soon begin harvesting and threshing the ripe mustard, entering a busy period.
Currently, mustard is selling in the market at prices ranging from Tk 3,800 to Tk 4,000 per maund, which has further encouraged the farmers.
Farmer Jullu Mia (55) from Tior Para village of Narchi Union in Sariakandi said that last year he cultivated mustard on three bighas of land and harvested 18 maunds, earning a good profit due to fair prices.
“This year, I have cultivated mustard on four bighas of land. By the grace of Allah, the yield has been very good. The crop has started to mature, and I will begin harvesting within a few days,” he added.
According to the Sariakandi Upazila Agriculture Office, mustard was cultivated on 3,250 hectares of land in the upazila last year.
This year, the cultivation target was set at 3,500 hectares, against which mustard has been grown on 3,350 hectares.
Last year, the average yield was 1.6 metric tons per hectare. Mustard can generally be harvested within 80 to 85 days of sowing.
Sariakandi Upazila Agriculture Officer Mohammad Ali Jinnah said that farmers have been benefiting from zero-tillage mustard cultivation for the past several years by following advice from the agriculture office.
“Mustard provides both oil and oilcake, while the dried plants are used as fuel. These by-products are useful for human consumption, livestock feed, and various other purposes,” he said.
He further added that large-scale mustard cultivation would help reduce dependency on soybean oil. At the same time, using pure mustard oil for cooking could help protect people from health risks.