Farmers produced a record quantity that is 494,427 tons of summer vegetables exceeding the fixed production target by 21.45% during the just-concluded Kharif-1 season in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers achieved a bumper output of summer vegetables braving the Covid-19 pandemic and got fair prices of the produce.
Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing over 407,101 tons of summer vegetables from 22,030 hectares of land for all five districts in Rangpur agriculture region during the last Kharif-1 season.
Agriculturist Bidhu Bhusan Ray, Additional Director of the DAE, Rangpur region said: "However, farmers cultivated summer vegetables on 26,365 hectares of land exceeding the fixed farming target by 4,335 hectares or 19.68%."
Farmers cultivated summer vegetables on 9,480 hectares of land in Rangpur, 4,780 hectares in Gaibandha, 4,820 hectares in Lalmonirhat, 2,475 hectares in Nilphamari and 4,810 hectares of land in Kurigram districts.
Ray said: "After completing harvest last week, farmers produced 494,427 tons of vegetables exceeding the fixed production target by 87,326 tons or 21.45 % at an excellent average yield rate of 18.75 tons per hectare of land."
The DAE and other organizations and institutes, commercial banks and NGOs supplied high-quality seeds, inputs, easy-term agri-loans, and assistance to farmers to make the intensive summer vegetables cultivation programme a success.
After getting repeated bumper production with rewarding prices, farmers are cultivating vegetables on more lands and many of them have achieved self-reliance from farming vegetables thrice during the Rabi, Kharif-1 and Kharif-2 seasons annually.
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"At the same time, farmers have cultivated vegetables on 13,950 hectares of land during the current Kharif-2 season in the region and already harvested on 3,370 hectares of land producing 56,143 tons of vegetables till Tuesday," Ray added.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid on Wednesday told BSS that farming of vegetables on crop lands, homesteads and char areas has already become a profitable venture for farmers.
Rashid said: "Braving the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers had cultivated summer vegetables successfully during the Kharif-1 season and achieved a bumper production in the region."
Vegetable-trader Hafizur Rahman at Rangpur City Bazar on Wednesdaysaid farmers sold summer vegetables between Tk20 and Tk60 per kg on an average depending on varieties and quality to the middlemen.
Hafizur said: "The retail prices were, however, higher by Tk15 per kg on an average in local markets as some vegetables perished during the transportation and marketing process."
Vegetable farmers Manik Miah, Alfaz Hossain, Ariful Haque, Meher Ali, Solaiman Ali, Abdur Rahman and Dulal Chandra Roy of different villages in Rangpur Sadar said they got a super bumper production of summer vegetables.
Farmer Dulal Mian of Char Harin Sharma village in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur said he is harvesting vegetables cultivated during the current Kharif-2 season after completing the harvest of vegetables cultivated during the current Kharif-1 season.
Farmer Aminul Islam of village Chandrakhana in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram said he completed harvesting and reaped better profits by selling his cultivated summer vegetables on one bigha of land during the last Kharif-1 season.
