GAIBANDHA, Feb 12, 2021(BSS) – The growers are expecting bumper production of ground nut BARI-9 variety cultivated on the char land of the district on pilot or trial basis in the current season.
Official sources said, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) set up an office named ‘On Farm Research Division’ (OFRD) in the district town in 2016-2017 fiscal year with the financial support of National Agriculture Technology and Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council aimed at making the BARI released improved varieties more popular at the farmers level and help the growers earn financial profit by producing and selling the varieties.
Accordingly, the scientists led by principal scientific officer (PSO) Dr. Abdullah Al Mahmud of OFRD here motivated the farmers of chars and Brahmaputra river basin areas of Shaghata and Sadar upazilas of the district to farm the varieties, including ground nut, to attain the cherished goals of the BARI.
A number of farmers residing on the chars and river basin areas of the district farmed the ground nut variety on 05 bighas of sandy char land last year. The plants of the variety became healthy and grew well and the plants are giving the growers desired output.
Alamgir Kabir, a grower of Batikamari char under Sadar upazila of the district, said he and other fellow growers are so much happy to see the pilot production of the crop after uprooting a few plants with yield. The growers are expecting bumper production of the crop. They are taking preparations to harvest the variety this month, he added.
Hearing this, many farmers are coming from far flung areas of the district to have a glimpse of the ground nut crop land and showing their interest to farm the variety in next seasons, Kabir said.
PSO of OFD Dr Abdullah Al Mahmud said if the growers are satisfied and get desired output against the crop this season, necessary measures would be taken for commercial production of the variety on the vast tracts of unused sandy char land of the district in the coming season.
In reply to a query, the PSO said as the yield of the variety has already been matured, the growers would start harvesting at the end of the current month.