Rangpur: Hundreds of farmers in the Rangpur agricultural region are benefiting from cultivating vegetables throughout the year, improving their livelihoods and fortunes, as well as boosting the rural economy.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many farmers and ordinary people have been successfully cultivating vegetables in farmland, pastures, and homesteads, meeting their nutritional needs while making good profits. Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) report that vegetables are cultivated throughout the year in the Rabi, Kharif-1, and Kharif-2 seasons, which has made many farmers self-reliant in the five districts of the region.
Md Sirajul Islam, acting additional director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rangpur region, highlighted that vegetable farming has become a profitable venture by adopting new crop types and technologies in the changing climatic conditions. “Along with massive government support and easy-to-use agricultural loans, some NGOs are providing farmers with quality seeds, inputs, and the latest technology to increase year-round vegetable production in the region,” he said.
After repeatedly achieving bumper yields and excellent market prices each year, farmers have been cultivating vegetables on more land in both the mainland and pasture regions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the last Rabi season, farmers produced 10,39,699 tonnes of winter vegetables from 39,742 hectares of land at an average yield rate of 26.16 tonnes per hectare.
Islam further noted that during the just-ended Kharif-1 season, farmers produced 5,24,485 tonnes of vegetables from 28,344 hectares of land at an average yield rate of 18.50 tonnes per hectare. In the current Kharif-2 season, farmers have cultivated vegetables on 15,869 hectares of land with ongoing vegetable harvest and seed sowing.
“If the climatic conditions remain favourable, a bumper production of around 2,90,000 lakh tonnes of vegetables is likely during this Kharif-2 season in the region,” Krishibid Md Sirajul Islam expressed optimism.
Market sources indicate that Kharif-2 vegetables have already appeared in abundance in local markets with excellent prices, making farmers happy. Farmers such as Arman Hossain, Liyakat Ali, Mohan Ali, Nur Islam, Ali, and Anwar Hossain from different villages in Rangpur have reported achieving self-reliance by cultivating vegetables. Farmer Ariful Haque noted that excellent prices during the pandemic have encouraged farmers to expand vegetable cultivation on farmlands and homesteads.
Vegetable retailer Fazlur Rahman at Keranipara Kitchen Market in Rangpur city explained that farmers sold Kharif-2 vegetables at rates between Taka 30 and Taka 150 per kilogram on average, depending on varieties and quality. “Retail prices are, however, higher by Taka 10 to Taka 20 per kg in local markets as some vegetables perished during the transportation and marketing process,” he added. Retailers such as Hafizur Rahman and Rashedul Islam confirmed that farmers are now receiving fair prices for their produced Kharif-2 vegetables.