There has been an enormous prospect of farming mug dal developed by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) in the vast barind tract. By dint of enhancing acreage of mug dal, socioeconomic condition of the farmers has started improving coupled with rising soil health.
After harvesting different rabi crops like wheat, mustard, potato, onion and garlic, above one lakh hectares of high barind land in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabgonj districts remain fallow every year.
There has been enormous scope of bringing the huge land under mug bean farming in order to best uses of those alongside increasing cropping intensity amid the current water-stress condition.
Krishi Goveshana Foundation (KGF) has been working for promoting mug dal farming in the huge fallow lands before transplanted aman cultivation start. Many farmers have become successful after BARI Mug-6 cultivation in order to enhance cropping intensity in fallow lands of the vast high barind tract. Pulse farming of BARI Mug-6 and BINA Mug-8 is significant in the dried area. Besides, the varieties give more yield and harvesting process is suitable than any other varieties.
Dr Mukhlesur Rahman, Director (Training and Communication) of BARI) said BARI’s On Farm Research Division (OFRD) and KGF are working here to bring cropping diversity, improving soil health and ultimately socioeconomic development of the farmers.
He referred to various salient features of Mug dal production. He said: “No additional cost for fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation is needed to cultivate this sort-term cash crop”.
To make the cultivation popular and profitable at the growers’ level, the OFRD will conduct various programmes including farmers’ motivation and training, field demonstration and supplying necessary inputs like seed the years ahead.
He added that mug bean is a drought tolerant short duration crop which fitted in the drought-prone area’s environment. So, the farmers are getting high yield and crop residue is added organic matter for soil health development, he pointed out.
Rabindra Kumar Majumder, Site Coordinator of KGF, said 1,200 bigha of land were brought under mug bean cultivation this year in preliminary stage. “We will impart training to 1,200 farmers to elevate their knowledge of how to cultivate the cash crop in modern method,” he said.
Additional Director of DAE, Rajshahi Nurul Amin said the cultivation of Mug dal has been playing a significant role in crop intensity and diversification. Because, he said, the crop is short- term and it could be cultivated easily on the rice-based cropping pattern.
Referring to the immense prospect of the crop, he also said that if the yield could be enhanced to the expected level through successful expansion of the modern cultivation method among the growers, country’s hard-earned foreign currencies would be saved.
Nurul Amin said the country has to import huge Mug dal to meet its domestic demand. Since there is a bright prospect of increasing its acreage, he said Mug dal could be produced in larger amount with less production cost and the yield will, no doubt, lessen pressure on import.
