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The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of Bangladesh and farmers in the Barind region of Rajshahi are quite optimistic about the bumper yield of garlic this season.
The DAE is expecting more than 3, 89,000 tons of garlic output this season due to favorable weather conditions in the region. The saplings of the spice are growing well, and bumper production is predicted from around 46,117 hectares of land in all eight districts of Rajshahi division during the current season.
Target has been set to produce around 2.63 lakh tons of garlic from 31,260 hectares of land in four districts under Rajshahi Agricultural Zone, while another 1.27 lakh tons from 14,957 hectares of land in four other districts under Bogra Agricultural Zone.
Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Sirajul Islam said all possible measures were adopted to attain the production target in the region this season.
He said farmers here are showing interest in garlic farming as they are getting bumper yield and fair prices for the cash crops using an eco-friendly method.
Now, he said, the farmers are passing very busy days in garlic cultivation and they are expecting bumper yield of garlic this year due to favourable weather.
Azhar Ali, a farmer of Halidagachhi village under Charghat upazila, had cultivated garlic on a 30-decimal land using the zero tillage method on trial basis in 2018 and he got a bumper yield. He cultivated the cash crop on 3 bigha of land, following the year.
After spending Tk 5,400 in garlic farming, Ali got sale-proceeds worth Tk 1.20 lakh and he earned a profit of Tk 65,000 in 2019, which inspired him to boost the farming to 6 bigha of arable land this year.
Afaz Uddin, a garlic farmer of Shilmaria village in Puthia upazila, said they used to cultivate garlic after digging the land in the past. However, now many farmers have started garlic cultivation without digging the land.
Farmers will be able to achieve bumper production of garlic if the weather remains favourable.
He said the direct-seeded garlic cultivation is gaining popularity among farmers in Rajshahi region, including its vast Barind and Chalan Beel areas, supplementing the ongoing efforts of reducing pressure on soil and underground water.
Abdus Sabur, another farmer of Panchandar village in Tanore upazila, said that he incurred losses during the last few years by producing tomatoes and other vegetables and rice. “However, we get handsome returns from garlic and onion,” he said.
Dr. Hameem Reza, Chief Scientific Officer of Spice Research Centre, said farmers are now showing more interest in the method of zero tillage garlic farming just after harvesting their transplanted Aman paddy.
Residual values of chemical and organic fertilizers and soil moisture of the paddy fields help the garlic farming enormously, he said.
Dr. Reza said that adopting large-scale zero tillage method for sowing seeds is very effective in increasing the production of garlic by saving labor, irrigation and pesticide costs.
He added that many government and non-government development agencies were working to further promote water-conserving crops in the Barind region and opened a new door for zero tillage garlic farming.
Source: Online/SZK
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