With its distinctive colour, juicy stalks and growing demand as a chewing sugarcane, Rang Bilash is emerging as a promising cash crop in Natore, creating new income opportunities for farmers in the Chalan Beel region.
Farmers in three upazilas of the district are increasingly cultivating the variety, encouraged by its good yield and lucrative returns. This year, Rang Bilash has been cultivated on 126 hectares of land in Natore, with an estimated production of 1,213 tonnes of sugarcane juice.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Gurudaspur has the largest area under cultivation, with 60 hectares, followed by Baraigram with 52 hectares and Singra with 14 hectares.
Cultivation of the variety is concentrated in these three upazilas bordering the Chalan Beel region, where favourable soil, water availability and climatic conditions support its growth.
Farmers said the crop's profitability stems not only from sugarcane sales but also from the opportunity to grow lucrative intercrops between the rows of cane.
Rabiul Karim, a farmer, told Dhaka Tribune that he grows garlic or onion between the sugarcane rows after planting the seedlings.
“We get around 25 to 30 maunds of garlic per bigha. In the case of onion, the yield can reach as high as 60 maunds,” he said.
According to Rabiul, earnings from intercrops can cover almost the entire cost of sugarcane cultivation, allowing farmers to earn substantial profits from selling the cane.
“With intercropping, a farmer can earn at least Tk2 lakh in profit per bigha,” he said.
For Golam Rasul of Mahishbhanga village in Baraigram, ‘RangBilash’ is more than a seasonal crop. He has been cultivating the variety for nearly three decades.
Rasul has already prepared more than 1,000 seedlings in his nursery for the next season. He said the crop remains in the field throughout the year and requires regular care.
“The plants need proper care, particularly protection from fungal attacks. If that is ensured, the yield is very good,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
This year, Rasul cultivated ‘RangBilash’ on five bighas of land and has already sold sugarcane harvested from two bighas for Tk4.5 lakh.
Traders from outside Natore are visiting his fields to buy the cane directly. He sells 100 stalks for Tk3,000 to Tk7,000, while retail prices range from Tk40 to Tk80 per stalk, depending on size and quality.
Selim Reza, sub-assistant agriculture officer of the Bonpara agricultural block, said farmers were also growing mung beans alongside garlic and onion in sugarcane fields.
“Intercropping makes ‘RangBilash’ cultivation highly profitable. Farmers can benefit considerably by adopting this method,” he said.
Around 100 acres of land in his agricultural block have been brought under ‘RangBilash’ cultivation this season, he added.
Baraigram Upazila Agriculture Officer Nilima Jahan said cultivation of the variety was helping improve farmers’ financial conditions in the area.
“The agriculture department is providing farmers with the necessary advice and technical support to expand cultivation of the variety,” she said.
Gurudaspur Upazila Agriculture Officer AKM Rafiul Islam said the upazila currently leads the district in ‘RangBilash’ cultivation.
“Many enthusiastic farmers in the upazila have taken up sugarcane cultivation because of its profitability,” he said.
DAE Deputy Director Md Habibul Islam Khan said farmers in the Chalan Beel region were already benefiting from the cultivation of ‘RangBilash’.
“Chewing sugarcane of this variety is gradually becoming an important cash crop for farmers in the Chalan Beel region. It has the potential to emerge as one of the area's major commercial crops in the near future,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
With strong market demand and the added advantage of profitable intercropping, Rang Bilash is opening up new income opportunities for Natore farmers, potentially establishing itself as a major commercial crop in the Chalan Beel region.
