BINA- 8 peanut variety becomes a hit initially

Farmers in the remote char village of Goaldah, 40 kilometres away from Magura town, have attained an unmatched success in the cultivation of BINA-8 China peanut, in the very first year of switching to the variety.

Chinese peanut is the only crop grown in the char village on the bank of the Gorai River.

The villagers survive mostly by making a living from the Gorai char land. They have been cultivating Chinese peanuts on char land for many years.

This year, the farmers cultivated BINA-8 peanut in the char village for the first time and achieved outstanding success.

Its high yield and lucrative price have raised new hopes and aspirations among the farmers of Goaldah.

Mrinal Kanti, a farmer of the char village, said, "I have been cultivating China peanut in the char area for about 20 years. Earlier, I got about six maunds of peanuts per bigha of land by cultivating the common variety. But this year I cultivated BINA-8 peanuts in my field for the first time. The yield I have achieved was out of my imagination which is about 10 maunds per bigha. I am overwhelmed with this success."

Another farmer, Shukumar Pal of Goaldah, said, "This year I brought my two bighas of land under BINA-8 peanut for the first time. Not only is the quantity of yield amusing to me, but also the price which I got for the variety is lucrative."

"The farmers who cultivated the common variety of peanut have got only Tk3,200 per maund, while I have got Tk4,200 per maund for BINA-8. The village has 300 bighas of char land, and we demand that the total land area be brought under BINA-8 cultivation in the upcoming season," he added.

Farmer Shubal Ghosh said, "We are cultivating Chinese peanuts for years. But the cultivation failed to give us solvency. Now we feel that BINA-8 peanut can change the fate of Goaldah char farmers. The variety can be cultivated twice a year."

Another farmer, Shukanta Biswas, said, "BINA-8 peanut is high-yielding and its price is lucrative. Moreover, the variety is less vulnerable to insecticides. On the other the village is affluent with livestock. So preparing manure for BINA-8 cultivation is easy and smooth for us. We seek support from the authorities to cultivate BINA-8 peanut in our 300 bigha land."

When contacted, BINA, Magura sub-centre officer-in-charge Shushan Chowhan said, "We have got an astonishing response from Goaldah char farmers about cultivating BINA-8 peanut. Production of BINA-8 peanut is 2.5 tonnes per hectare as against 1.75 tonnes in the case of the common variety."

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