BSS, Rajshahi :
Experts have urged the farmers to cultivate groundnut in char (riverbed) areas for improving their living and livelihood conditions along with meeting the nutritional deficiency. They mentioned that there are immense prospects of boosting acreage of groundnut and its yield in the riverbed areas as its soil texture and climate condition is suitable for the cash crop farming. The agricultural scientists and researchers came up with the observation while addressing a field day meeting for demonstrating fields of high-yielding groundnut at Char Mazar Diar village in Paba upazila of the district on Monday.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) organized the meeting on behalf of its project titled “Popularizing of High Valued Unconventional Fruit and Medicinal Crop in the Barind Area”.
Around 30 farmers joined the meeting and they were given knowledge on how to boost the yield of groundnut and uplift their living condition. BMDA has been implementing the five-year project in 13 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon districts at a cost of around Taka 17.34 crore since early last year.
The meeting was told that nine farmers were given 200 kilograms of groundnut seeds and other requisite knowhow free of cost for cultivation in the Mazar diar village on behalf of the project.
With the breakthrough of incentives and inspiration, the beneficiaries and their fellow farmers have cultivated the crop on around 200 bigha of land this season and the present farming condition is mind-blowing. Project Director ATM Rafiqul Islam addressed the meeting as the chief guest with Executive Engineer Zinnurine Khan in the chair. Assistant Engineer Kamrul Islam and Assistant Manager Monirul Islam also spoke.
Principal Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute Dr Jagadish Chandra Barman spoke as focal person disseminating his expertise on the issue, adding groundnuts need less water and it is more profitable than other crops in the riverbed area.
Rafiqul Islam said the project is being implemented with the main focus of boosting commercial farming of the high-valued fruits in the project-covering areas.
“We’ve set the target of establishing 22 orchards for fruits, 20 for field crops, eight for spices and two for beverages,” he said, adding that most of the highly valued nonconventional fruits, field crops, spices and herbs will be brought under demonstration.
Around 52 demonstration orchards will be generated aimed at boosting production of high-valued non-conventional fruits and medicinal crops through popularizing farming of those.
Around 4.15 lakh saplings and 2,000 kilograms of seeds of nonconventional fruits and crops will be distributed among the farmers free of cost on behalf of the project to increase such orchards.
Some 1,500 farmers and 310 officers and employees concerned will be imparted training on production, transplantation, nurturing and other techniques of the seedlings.
Upon successful implementation by June, 2025, the project is expected to contribute a lot to enhance the number of orchards of nonconventional fruits and medicinal crops.
