BSS, Rajshahi :
Cultivation of maize both in rabi and kharip seasons in Rajshahi region, especially Barind tract and Chalan Beel areas, has been increasing gradually as the farmers are showing more interest towards the farming.
The farmers got fair prices of maize during the last couple of years inspiring them to cultivate more maize as its farming is risk-free. There are brighter prospects for increasing maize production and the government has put due emphasis on the issue.
The region is viable for huge maize cultivation which can play a vital role in transforming traditional agriculture into commercial one because of its multiple use and economic benefit.
Maize contains high levels of Vitamin-A and its multi-dimensional use including production of corn oil with no cholesterol can help heart patients in many ways. Agricultural extension officials, scientists and researchers made these observations while illustrating salient feature of more than 100 conservation agriculture (CA)-based demonstration plots of maize in different areas in Durgapur, Charghat, Paba and Godagari upazilas of the district.
Regional Wheat Research Center (RWRC), Rajshahi under Bangladesh
Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) set up the plots under “Sustainable Resilient Farming System Initiative (SRFSI)” in association with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
Dr Ilias Hossain, Principal Scientific Officer of RWRC, said the farmers both small and marginal cultivate the cash crop in more lands including the vast Barind tract and char areas in the region.
Availability of quality seeds, including hybrid varieties, huge demand of the commodity in the country and maximum profits have encouraged them towards farming maize to a large extent.
To mitigate the water-stress condition in Barind Tract, step has been adopted to make the farmers habituated in farming maize through CA-based and raised-bed methods with intervention of SRFSI and CIMMYT since 2010.
Raised beds facilitate sowing without waste of time allowing crop growth to better match water availability, said Dr Hossain.
Fazlur Rahman, additional director of Department of Agriculture Extension, said there was no scarcity of seeds this time as huge quantities of the same were distributed among the farmers and sowing maize seeds were timely completed in more lands under the crop farming programme.
He hoped that the enhanced farming could supplement the efforts to ensure food security adding that the field level DAE officials and staffs are working relentlessly to overcome the existing obstacles being faced by the farmers relating to maize farming.
Rahman said various steps have been adopted to increase the acreage of maize along with boosting its yield as the crop diversification has been given top priority in the existing water-stress condition.
ATM Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Manager of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, said maize is being used in preparation of various nutritional foods like corn-well, corn-flex, poultry and animal feed and fodder and in several industrial products as well. The demand for the crop is on the rise with the increase of the poultry and dairy farms, he pointed out.
“Maize is highly beneficial to human health if consumed, the flour
prepared through crushing 70 percent wheat and 30 percent maize together”, he said citing various recognized international level scientific research findings and analyses.
Cultivation of maize both in rabi and kharip seasons in Rajshahi region, especially Barind tract and Chalan Beel areas, has been increasing gradually as the farmers are showing more interest towards the farming.
The farmers got fair prices of maize during the last couple of years inspiring them to cultivate more maize as its farming is risk-free. There are brighter prospects for increasing maize production and the government has put due emphasis on the issue.
The region is viable for huge maize cultivation which can play a vital role in transforming traditional agriculture into commercial one because of its multiple use and economic benefit.
Maize contains high levels of Vitamin-A and its multi-dimensional use including production of corn oil with no cholesterol can help heart patients in many ways. Agricultural extension officials, scientists and researchers made these observations while illustrating salient feature of more than 100 conservation agriculture (CA)-based demonstration plots of maize in different areas in Durgapur, Charghat, Paba and Godagari upazilas of the district.
Regional Wheat Research Center (RWRC), Rajshahi under Bangladesh
Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) set up the plots under “Sustainable Resilient Farming System Initiative (SRFSI)” in association with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
Dr Ilias Hossain, Principal Scientific Officer of RWRC, said the farmers both small and marginal cultivate the cash crop in more lands including the vast Barind tract and char areas in the region.
Availability of quality seeds, including hybrid varieties, huge demand of the commodity in the country and maximum profits have encouraged them towards farming maize to a large extent.
To mitigate the water-stress condition in Barind Tract, step has been adopted to make the farmers habituated in farming maize through CA-based and raised-bed methods with intervention of SRFSI and CIMMYT since 2010.
Raised beds facilitate sowing without waste of time allowing crop growth to better match water availability, said Dr Hossain.
Fazlur Rahman, additional director of Department of Agriculture Extension, said there was no scarcity of seeds this time as huge quantities of the same were distributed among the farmers and sowing maize seeds were timely completed in more lands under the crop farming programme.
He hoped that the enhanced farming could supplement the efforts to ensure food security adding that the field level DAE officials and staffs are working relentlessly to overcome the existing obstacles being faced by the farmers relating to maize farming.
Rahman said various steps have been adopted to increase the acreage of maize along with boosting its yield as the crop diversification has been given top priority in the existing water-stress condition.
ATM Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Manager of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, said maize is being used in preparation of various nutritional foods like corn-well, corn-flex, poultry and animal feed and fodder and in several industrial products as well. The demand for the crop is on the rise with the increase of the poultry and dairy farms, he pointed out.
“Maize is highly beneficial to human health if consumed, the flour
prepared through crushing 70 percent wheat and 30 percent maize together”, he said citing various recognized international level scientific research findings and analyses.
