RANGPUR, May 11, 2020 (BSS) – The farmers of all five districts in Rangpur agriculture region got a bumper production of over 23.13 lakh tonnes of potato during this Rabi season.
Talking to BSS, officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said the farmers have exceeded the production target of 22.63 lakh tonnes of potato by 50,000 tonnes in the region this season.
Meanwhile, potato farmers expressed happiness after getting a record production of the crop before the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its excellent market price since the beginning of the harvesting season.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region agriculturist Muhammad Ali said a target of producing over 22.63 lakh tonnes of potato was fixed from 86,642 hectares of land of the region this season.
“The farmers had finally cultivated potato on 92,675 hectares of land exceeding the fixed farming target by 6,133 hectares and they produced over 23.13 lakh tonnes of the crop with an average yield rate of 24.96 tonnes per hectare,” Ali said.
Talking to BSS, President of Rangpur District Potato Growers’ Association Alhaj Khwaja Ahmed said the farmers achieved an excellent potato yield with all-time high price this year.
“The farmers sold each sac containing 84 kilogram of ‘Diamond’, ‘Cardinal’, ‘Raja’, ‘Granula’, and ‘Astarisk’ varieties of potato at Taka 1,100 to Taka 1,200 till March though the current market price in even higher,” Ahmed said.
He said farmers had to sell potatoes at rates between Taka 800 and Taka 850 last year while at rates between Taka 640 and Taka 660 per every 84-kg sac in the previous year in the region.
Potato retailers Zahidul Islam, Hafizur Rahman, Fazlur Rahman and Rokan Mian at different kitchen markets in Rangpur city said they are selling potato at rates between Taka 22 and 35 per kg depending on the varieties and qualities.
“We sold different varieties of potato at rates between Taka 18 and Taka 28 per kg in the last week of March, but the price continues showing an upward trend since the coronavirus outbreak,” said potato retailer Fazlur Rahman.
Rangpur Chamber President Mostafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu expressed happiness over the excellent potato output this time in Rangpur region.
“The farmers could store only 60 percent of their produced potato in the cold storages of Rangpur region before the coronavirus outbreak,” he said, adding that the potato storing capacity of the cold storages remains unfilled by 40 percent now.
He put importance on establishing potato-based agro-industries and preservation facilities for potato and some other vegetables and enhancing exports of those to ensure fair price for the farmers.
Talking to BSS, potato farmer Ariful Haque Batul of village Najirdigar in Rangpur Sadar expressed happiness over the super bumper potato yield and its market price this season.
“I had cultivated potatoes on my three acres of land and got excellent yield after competing harvest by early March,” Batul said, adding that he preserved his produced potatoes in cold storages before the COVID-19 outbreak.