A super bumper wheat production is likely as harvest of the major cereal crop has already begun with excellent initial yield rate in all five districts under Rangpur agriculture region during this Rabi season.
Officials in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) predicted excellent wheat production in the region breaking all previous records to further brighten its prospect in the national agro-economy and food security.
Horticulture Specialist of DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said harvest of the crop begun from last week and the process will get momentum very soon as wheat fields are ripening faster though seed formation still continues in the lately sowed fields.
The farmers have cultivated wheat in 31,005 hectares of land against the fixed target of farming the crop in 24,528 hectares to produce 72,840 tonnes wheat exceeding the fixed cultivation target by 6,477 hectares of land or 26.41 per cent this time.
“The tender wheat plants grew excellent amid favourable climatic
conditions without any incidents of diseases like head blight or head blasts and farmers took proper care of crop fields using latest technologies to achieve better yield,” he said.
Extension Agronomist of the USAID-BMGF-funded Cereal System Initiatives for South Asia and International Maize & Wheat Improvement Centre (CSISA-CIMMYT) Project at its Dinajpur Hub Anarul Haque also predicted bumper wheat output this season.
He said wheat farming has become very popular and more profitable among farmers as they achieved its repeated bumper production with lucrative price in recent years and again exceeded the fixed cultivation target this season in Rangpur region.
Adviser- Agriculture of BRAC International (South Asia and Africa) Dr MA Mazid expressed satisfaction over expanded wheat cultivation by farmers and predicted bumper production of the cereal crop this season.
He said farmers have mostly been cultivating high quality, disease resistant and stress-tolerant wheat using latest, mechanised and low cost conservation agriculture based technologies after harvesting short duration Aman rice to get bumper production.
