Natore: Potato farmers are happy with the expected sweet potato yield in the district as the process of collecting sweet potatoes from cultivated land is almost over. Sweet potato farmers are benefiting from the high price in the market along with the expected potato yield.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) reported that sweet potatoes have been cultivated on 69 hectares of land in the district this season. Farmers have harvested sweet potatoes from about 60 hectares of land, with a yield rate of 26.59 tonnes per hectare. It is expected that around 1,900 tonnes of sweet potatoes will be produced in the district this season.
Ashraf Ali, a farmer from Hazra area of Sadar upazila, shared his experience, stating, “It is a profitable crop and I am expecting to get at least 80 maunds of yield per bigha of land.” Similarly, farmer Saiful Islam from Boro Saoil village in Singra upazila reported, “I have got a yield of 78 maunds of sweet potato from per bigha of land. Initially, I sold them at Taka 1500 per maund.”
Vegetable trader Kamal Hossain from Nichabazar area noted that sweet potatoes are currently being sold at Taka 40 per kilogram in the retail market. Housewife Masuma Sultana emphasized the nutritional value of sweet potatoes, highlighting their richness in vitamin A, fiber, minerals, antioxidants, and anti-cancer elements.
Deputy Director of the DAE, Habibul Islam Khan, confirmed that the area of cultivated land for sweet potatoes has increased compared to last year, and the yield is as expected. The agriculture department plans to work on further increasing the area under sweet potato cultivation in the district in the future.