The early variety of potato has already appeared in local markets making farmers happy with lucrative price as its cultivation gets full momentum everywhere in the northern region.
According to officials and farmers, the newly harvested early variety potato is selling at rates between Tk45 and Tk50 per kilogram in local markets as sowing of potato seeds will continue till January next after completion of the Aman crop harvest, reports BSS.
The crop was selling at Tk65 per kg a week ago when it appeared the local markets in the second week of November for the first time and the price marked a fall following more harvests now.
According to officials in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), a target of producing 6.65m tonnes of potato has been fixed from approximately 300,000 hectares of land in northern Bangladesh during the current Rabi season.
Horticulture specialist of the DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam told BSS that farmers of the northern region will produce 70.11% of the fixed national target of 8.65m tonnes potato from 440,000 hectares during this season.
The farmers have so far sowed potato seeds on around 107,000 lakh hectares land, about 35% of the fixed farming target in the region, he added.
Meanwhile, the farmers have started harvesting the early variety potatoes they have cultivated on their lands after harvesting the short duration variety Aman paddies like BRRI dhan33, BRRI dhan33, BRRI dhan48, BINA dhan7 etc in the region.
Farmer Yunus Ali of village Singdoi said he has cultivated early variety potato on one acre land after harvesting the short duration Aman paddies and already harvested potato to earn huge profits last week.
Farmers Kalam Hossain of village Kochukata, Nuh Ul Alam of Gangachara and Faruk Hossain of Bogulagari village said they have also harvested and earned excellent profits after cultivating potato on their lands after harvesting short duration Aman crop.
Deputy Director of the DAE Feroz Ahmed said the concerned agro-related departments, seed dealers and many NGOs have been providing quality potato seeds and inputs including fertilisers to the farmers to make potato farming successful.
