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RAJSHAHI, Dec 13 (BSS): Farmers and others concerned are hopeful about a good potato yield in Rajshahi region during the current season as overall climatic condition remains favourable for the farming since its initial stage.
With the hope of making profit like the previous seasons, the farmers are now very busy in various field level work like land preparation, seed-sowing of late varieties, nursing of the growing plants and harvesting and marketing of the early varieties everywhere in eight districts under the division.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has set a target of producing more than 4.56 million tonnes of potato from 0.16 million hectares of land in the Rajshahi division.
Currently, early variety potato has appeared in the local markets in plenty with more or less better prices benefiting the growers in the region, markets sources said.
"I am getting profit financially after cultivating advance variety of potato on five bigha of land. The potato farming has made my family happy," said Abdul Maleque, a farmer of Baosha village under Bagha upazila in Rajshahi district.
He mentioned that both yield and market price is almost satisfactory. Babul Dewan, a farmer of a Char village under the same upazila, says many farmers are seen cultivating potato in char areas of the Padma river as they got the taste of profit of the cast crop farming.
Golam Rasul, a farmer of Darusha village under Paba Upazila, said both acreage and yield were boosted up in the wake of a favourable 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. He said, "We are very much optimistic about our outcomes as the weather was absolutely supportive".
Rasul 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 with massive promotion of commercial farming as a result of irrigation facilities promoted by the Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities (BMDA).
Mozur-E-Mawla, Upazila Agriculture Officer, said the farmers are expecting a better yield as there was no major natural calamity that can damage its outputs.
Most of the growers' harvested better yields of potato in last three to four years and they also obtained expected sale proceeds in the harvesting stage.
"I had sold out an 85-kg potato bag at Tk 800 to Tk 850 in previous season, said Ziarul Haque, a farmer of Baya village.
Mustafizur Rahman, additional director of DAE, said the officials, experts and other organisations concerned have been providing necessary suggestions to the farmers to face the cold situation so that the growing potato fields are not affected by late blight disease.
He says the DAE, The Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, other agri-related departments and commercial banks are assisting the farmers to make the extensive potato farming program a success.
Many of the farmers said potato farming could become more profitable if adequate preservation facilities were ensured and potato-based agro-industries are set up besides enhancing exports.