RANGPUR, April 2, 2021 (BSS) – The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of bringing 3,455 hectares of land under ginger farming to produce 39,647 tonnes of the spicy crop during this Kharif-1 season in Rangpur agriculture region.
The DAE officials said farmers are sowing ginger seeds and seedlings now on their crop lands after completing harvest of the crop cultivated during the last Kharif-1 season in the region on the same land recently.
Farmers are showing more interest in farming ginger getting better price of the spicy crop cultivated last season on 3,165 hectares of land in the region,” Additional Director of the DAE at its regional office Agriculturist Khandker Abdul Wahed, told BSS.
Farmers have already sown ginger seeds on over 450 hectares of land in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts of the region till Thursday as the process continues in full swing everywhere in the region.
“The DAE is conducting motivational activities and providing training and latest technologies to farmers while commercial banks are providing easy-term agriculture loans to them for enhancing cultivation of ginger and other spicy crops,” Wahed said.
Deputy Director of the DAE for Rangpur Dr Md Sarwarul Haque said farming of ginger and other spicy crops continues expanding every year as the government provides necessary training, inputs and easy-term agriculture loans to farmers.
“The DAE has also been providing quality seeds to farmers to enhance production of spicy crops ensuring proper crop diversification, land management and utilising latest technologies to attain self-reliance on locally produced spicy crops,” he added.
Talking to BSS, farmers Mokhlesur Rahman, Ariful Haque, Abdus Sattar and Mofizar Rahman of different villages in Rangpur said they are sowing ginger seeds and seedlings now on their crop lands after harvesting the crop cultivated last season on the same lands.
“We are selling newly harvested ginger cultivated during the Kharif-1 season at rates between Taka 90 to Taka 100 per kg to local ginger traders,” said farmer Echhahaq Ali of village Kathihara in Rangpur Sadar upazila.
Retail vegetable traders Hafizur Rahman at City Bazar Market and Fazlur Rahman at Keranipara Kitchen Market in Rangpur city said newly harvested ginger cultivated last season is being sold at rates between Taka 100 and Taka 110 per kg in local markets.
Talking to BSS, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid lauded the government for taking various pragmatic steps through the DAE and other organisations to increase production of spicy crops.
“There is an ample opportunity to increase production of ginger and other spicy crops by bringing fallow lands and homesteads across Rangpur agriculture region under farming of high yielding varieties of spicy crops,” Rashid said.