RANGPUR, Oct 25, 2019 (BSS) – Like in the previous years, the riverside
and char people already began cultivation of various crops on char lands and
dried up riverbeds in riverine areas of Rangpur agriculture region during
this dry season.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said char people
are sowing crop seeds since the beginning of the dry season on char lands
following appearance of shoals with massive deposition of alluvial soils
during the last flood.
Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Md.
Moniruzzaman said the char people cultivated crops on over 90,000 hectares of
char lands and dried-up beds in riverine areas of all five districts in the
region during the last dry season.
As the sowing of seeds continues, tender plants of some crops are growing
now on char lands, shoals and silted- up beds of the Brahmaputra, Teesta,
Dharla, Ghaghot, Jamuna, Kartoa and other rivers and tributaries in the
region.
“The char and riverside people mostly cultivate mustard, potato, pumpkin
and other vegetables, onion, green chili, garlic, maize, wheat, Boro rice,
groundnut, ‘kawn’, pulses, ’till’, tobacco, pulses and watermelon and other
crops on these lands,” he said.
Sowing of seeds of mustard, onion and vegetables is continuing in full
swing now on char lands and dried up riverbeds as the process will continue
till December and crop harvest will begin from February next to end before
commencement of the rainy season.
Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and
Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh, said crop cultivation on char lands and
silted-up riverbeds continues increasing across Rangpur agriculture region
during the past three decades.
Around 20,000 char households, who are beneficiaries of different NGOs and
government organisations, are cultivating pumpkin, other vegetables and crops
in over 230 villages of 25 upazilas in all five districts of the region this
season.
“Some 15,000 char and riverside families have achieved self-reliance
through farming various crops on the dried-up riverbeds and char lands with
GO-NGO assistance during the past two decades changing their living standard
by cutting poverty,” Rashid said.
Talking to BSS, riverside and char people Karim Uddin, Aklima Khatun,
Mahfil Haque and Kobiza Khatun in Gangachara upazila here said some 56
families of the area are cultivating pumpkin and other crops on the dried-up
Teesta riverbed there this time.
A farmer generally spends Taka 18,000 to Taka 20,000 for cultivating
pumpkin on 200 raised sandbars to sell the produced pumpkin at Taka 45,000 to
Taka 50,000 earn a net profit of Taka 25,000 on an average after completing
harvest by March every year.
“I am cultivating pumpkin, onion, garlic and vegetables on the dried-up
beds of the river Teesta with my husband to complete harvesting those by
March next,” said landless riverside farmer Kobiza Khatun of Paschim Mohipur
village in the upazila.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Muhammad
Ali said cultivation of various crops on char lands and dried up riverbeds
continues increasing every year in recent decades bringing solvency to local
people.
“With the deposition of alluvial soil during floods, the dried up riverbeds
and char lands become more fertile encouraging local people in cultivating
various crops to get excellent output at lower costs making them self-
reliant,” Ali said.