BSS, Rajshahi :
There should be more motivational programme for the farmers towards cultivating lentil, chickpea and grasspea on more lands in the region including the vast Barind tract to meet up the gradually increasing demands of pulses, agriculturists and scientists concerned here said.
They viewed there are enormous prospects of harvesting additional 20,000 tonnes of the three pulses every year in the high Barind tract comprising Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts.
The policy planners and the research organisations working in this field should take the responsibility of motivating the growers for the best uses of the existing potentialities.
They added that the On Farm Research Division (OFRD) of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) should be more effective so that the modern techniques of Lentil, Chickpea and Grasspea farming in high Barind Tract are reached towards the farmers in easy means.
ATM Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Manager (Agriculture) of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA), viewed around 20,000 bighas of land remains fallow for more than three months after the harvest of transplanted Aman paddy every year.
There has been bright scope of bringing the huge land under the three pulses farming in order to best uses of those alongside increasing cropping intensity amid the current water-stress condition.
To make the farming popular and profitable at the growers’ level, the BMDA has started conducting various programmes including farmers’ motivation and training, field demonstration and supplying necessary inputs like seed the years ahead.
He said the BMDA has planned to bring 1,000 bighas of land under the above mentioned pulses cultivation 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.
He referred to various salient features of the cash crops. Rafiqul Islam said, “No additional cost for fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation is needed to cultivate this sort-term cash crop”.
Dr Isral Hossain, Chief Scientific Officer of Regional Wheat Research Station, said the cultivation of pulses 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 crops, 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.
The country has to import huge pulses especially lentil to meet its domestic demand. Since there is a bright prospect of increasing its acreage, lentil and chickpea could be produced in larger amount with less production cost and the yield will no doubt lessen pressure on import.
There should be more motivational programme for the farmers towards cultivating lentil, chickpea and grasspea on more lands in the region including the vast Barind tract to meet up the gradually increasing demands of pulses, agriculturists and scientists concerned here said.
They viewed there are enormous prospects of harvesting additional 20,000 tonnes of the three pulses every year in the high Barind tract comprising Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts.
The policy planners and the research organisations working in this field should take the responsibility of motivating the growers for the best uses of the existing potentialities.
They added that the On Farm Research Division (OFRD) of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) should be more effective so that the modern techniques of Lentil, Chickpea and Grasspea farming in high Barind Tract are reached towards the farmers in easy means.
ATM Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Manager (Agriculture) of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA), viewed around 20,000 bighas of land remains fallow for more than three months after the harvest of transplanted Aman paddy every year.
There has been bright scope of bringing the huge land under the three pulses farming in order to best uses of those alongside increasing cropping intensity amid the current water-stress condition.
To make the farming popular and profitable at the growers’ level, the BMDA has started conducting various programmes including farmers’ motivation and training, field demonstration and supplying necessary inputs like seed the years ahead.
He said the BMDA has planned to bring 1,000 bighas of land under the above mentioned pulses cultivation 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.
He referred to various salient features of the cash crops. Rafiqul Islam said, “No additional cost for fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation is needed to cultivate this sort-term cash crop”.
Dr Isral Hossain, Chief Scientific Officer of Regional Wheat Research Station, said the cultivation of pulses 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 crops, 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.
The country has to import huge pulses especially lentil to meet its domestic demand. Since there is a bright prospect of increasing its acreage, lentil and chickpea could be produced in larger amount with less production cost and the yield will no doubt lessen pressure on import.
