RAJSHAHI, Dec 21, 2019 (BSS) – Around 4.57 lakh tonnes of maize are
expected to be produced from 49,482 hectares of land in all eight districts
under Rajshahi division during the current Rabi season.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has set the target of producing
around 2.58 lakh tonnes of maize from 28,491 hectares of land in four
districts of Rajshahi Agricultural Zone while 1.98 lakh tonnes from 20,991
hectares of land in four other districts of Bogura Agricultural Zone.
Deb Dulal Dhali, Additional Director of DAE, here said diversified steps
including distribution of incentives among farmers besides need-based
training for them were adopted to attain the production target.
He said 42,500 small and marginal farmers were given seeds and fertilisers
worth around Taka 5.73 crore free of cost for the maize farming under the
government’s agricultural incentive programme.
Meanwhile, maize farming has been gaining popularity as many people are
seen humming towards the cash crop farming as it has been giving them better
yield and lucrative market price in the region including its vast Barind
tract for the last couple of years.
Azad Hossain, a farmer of Pirijpur village in Godagari upazila, has
brought two bighas of land under the maize farming during the current season.
He along with many other fellow farmers expects better yield as suitable
weather prevails here now.
Islam got 15 to 17 mounds yield from per bigha of land and sold at Taka
600 to 650 per mound in last harvesting season.
Sohrab Ali, another farmer of Bagdhani village in Paba upazila, said he is
very happy with cultivating various less-water consuming crops like maize. He
said he had to face many troubles to manage water for irrigation on boro
field but the maize cultivation takes less water.
He said wheat cultivation on per bigha of land needs at least Taka 8,000,
and the yield is 14 to 16 maunds. On the contrary, maize farming on one bigha
of land needs Taka 6,500, and the yield is 20 to 25 maunds. So, he cultivated
maize on 15 bighas of land this season.
Another farmer Karimul Haque of Dharmahata village used to cultivate Boro
paddy during last 30 years. But, this season, he has cultivated maize on 10
bighas of land instead of Boro paddy.
Dr Shakhawat Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Agriculture
Research Institute (BARI, told BSS that maize cultivation both in rabi and
kharif seasons in the region has been increasing gradually as the farmers are
showing more interest to this crop cultivation.
He said there was no scarcity of seeds this time as huge quantities of the
same were distributed among the farmers and they timely completed sowing of
maize seeds.
Principal Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research
Institute (BWMRI) Dr Ilias Hossain said maize is being used in preparation of
various nutritional foods like corn-well, corn-flex, poultry and animal feed
and fodder and in several industrial products as well.
The demand for the crop is on the rise with the increase of the poultry and
dairy farms as it contains huge Vitamin-A, he pointed out.
Dr Hossain said maize is highly beneficial to human health if consumed, the
flour prepared through crushing 70 percent wheat and 30 percent maize
together.
BWMRI has released five high yielding maize varieties and two of those-BARI
Hybrid Bhutta-12 and 13- are both heat and drought tolerant. So, these are
becoming popular in the growers’ level of the region.