BSS, Rajshahi :
Farmers and other officials concerned are very much hopeful about cherished potato production in the region as overall climatic condition remains favorable towards the farming since its initial stage.
With the hope of making profit like the previous season, the farmers in the current season have cultivated potato on more lands than the target fixed by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) everywhere in eight districts under the division.
Mozdar Hossain Upazila Agriculture Officer, said the farmers are expecting better yield as there was no major natural calamity that can damage its outputs. However, the cold wave that sweeping the region for the last couple of days makes the potato growers apprehended over their farming.
Most of the growers’ harvested better yields of potato in last two to three years and they also obtained expected sale proceeds in the harvesting stage. “I had sold out an 85-kg potato bag at Taka 750 to 800 in previous season, said Ziarul Haque, a farmer of Baya village under Paba upazila.
Abdur Rahim, a farmer of Bargachhi village, said both acreage and yield were boosted up in the wake of favorable climatic condition and availability of standard seed in the region.
This season, he along with his sons cultivated potato on around 150 bighas of land. “We are very much optimistic over our outcomes as the weather was absolutely supportive”.
Abdur Rahim further said there is a need of enhancing the number of cold storages for betterment of the potato growers.
Potato farming has now been expanded to the dried lands in the vast Barind tract as a result of irrigation facilities promoted by the Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities (BMDA). There has been a better position in all the farming fields predicting expected yields.
The DAE has fixed a target of producing 30.5 lakh tonnes of potato from 1.53 lakh hectares of land in the eight districts during this Rabi season.
