ZCZC
BSS-01
SUMMER-BEANS-FARMING (with picture)
Summer beans farming becomes boon for Barind farmers
RAJSHAHI, Oct 17, 2018 (BSS)-Summer beans farming has been gaining ground
in this region including its vast Barind tract as the farmers get lucrative
market price of the cash crop.
Large numbers of farmers are now engaged in bean cultivation commercially
considering its economic prospect. The farmers obtained a significant success
after farming the vegetable on 10 bigha of land for the first time in 2014.
Witnessing the success, over 300 farmers received training this season.
While visiting some farming areas of the region like Huzripara, Chowbaria,
Darusha, Rajabari, Haripur and Pakira recently this reporter found farmers
working in their bean-field with much enthusiasm.
The plants were covered with massive green leaves predicting a bumper
production. At present, harvested beans has started appearing in the local
markets on a limited scale.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said in the last year
more than 200 farmers were imparted necessary training.
Only in Godagari upazila, the farmers cultivated summer beans on around 130
hectares. This year, the DAE supplied two hybrid varieties seed-
Ghritakanchan and Rupbhan- to the interested farmers.
Ariful Islam, a farmer of Sorail village, had cultivated beans on 10 katha
of low-lying land and harvested crops valued at Taka 34,000 last year. He
spent Taka 17,000 for the farming purposes.
He told BSS that a silent revolution has been taken place in summer beans
farming in different areas of the Barind tract particularly Godagari upazila.
Beans cultivation has become an effective means of bringing fortune for
many farmers in the vast Barind tract comprising 25 upazilas of Rajshahi,
Chapainawabganj and Naogaon districts in both summer and winter seasons, said
Jahangir Alam Khan, a development activist.
The farmers are becoming habituated to cultivating beans on the lands
demarcating paddy fields as they are earning extra benefits from the same
land.
Agriculturist Monjurul Haque, District Training Officer of DAE, said the
farmers’ cultivated early variety beans on around 500 hectares land in the
Barind in the current season. Two varieties-Rupban and Ghritakanchon- are
very much popular among the farmers as those are high yielding.
Marginal farmers and the poor people in the region are mostly engaged in
this venture by making the best use of spaces around their homes over the
last couple of years.
DAE impart training to the farmers on beans farming and supply seed free of
cost to encourage more other farmers towards the beans farming.
Ahad Ali, a farmer of Kantapasha village under Godagari upazila of
Rajshahi, said that he cultivated beans on six bighas of land this year. It
was only one bigha a few years ago.
“After obtaining my master’s degree, I joined a school. At the same time I
started bean cultivation as it is very profitable.”
He informed that bean farming on a bigha of land costs Taka 12,000 to
14,000. If there is no natural calamity, a farmer can get 80 to 100 maunds of
bean from the land in a season. One can easily earn a profit of Taka 15,000
to 20,000 from per bigha.
Ahad Ali said four to five thousand Taka is required to cultivate bean on
one bigha of land. Sowing of bean seeds begins at the end of Bangla month of
Ashar, but the full season begins from Kartik.
At the beginning of both the seasons, beans are seen sold at exorbitant
prices. Gradually the prices come down with huge supply making the buyers
happy and the farmers unhappy.
Local farmers and traders have demanded that the government should build a
cold storage in the area so that they can preserve their agricultural
products.
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