Farmers are eying bumper production of ginger cultivated during the Kharif-1 season as harvest of the spicy crop continues in Rangpur agriculture region this year.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said a target of producing 39,647 tonnes of ginger had been fixed from 3,455 hectares of land for all five districts of the region this season.
"Farmers have cultivated ginger on 3,541 heaters of land exceeding the fixed farming target by 86 hectares or 2.49 per cent in the region," said Agriculturist Bidhu Bhusan Ray, Additional Director of the DAE, Rangpur region.
Farmers have finally cultivated ginger on 1,145 hectares of land in Rangpur, 360 hectares in Gaibandha, 595 hectares in Kurigram, 410 hectares in Lalmonirhat and 1,031 hectares of land in Nilphamari districts of the region this season.
During the last Kharif-1 season, farmers cultivated ginger on 3,165 hectares of land in the region and got a bumper production of the spicy crop.
After getting assistance from the government and repeated bumper production of ginger with lucrative market price every year in recent times, farmers are showing more interest in farming the spicy crop.
"The DAE has been conducting motivational activities and providing training and latest farming technologies to farmers for enhancing cultivation of ginger and other spicy crops in the region in recent years," Ray said.
The government provided quality seeds to farmers to enhance production of spicy crops ensuring proper crop diversification and land management to attain self-reliance on locally produced spicy crops, including ginger.
Talking to BSS, farmers Abdul Haque, Golam Rahman, Mominul Haque, Afzal Hossain and Echhahaq Ali of different villages in Rangpur Sadar upazila said they have already begun harvesting their cultivated ginger.
Farmers Musfikur Rahman, Joynal Abedin, Sohel Rana, Solaiman Ali, Mofizar Rahman and Abdul Gafur of Badarganj and Taraganj upazilas in Rangpur said they are expecting bumper ginger output this season.
"We are selling newly harvested ginger cultivated during the Kharif-1 season at rates between Taka 2,200 and Taka 2,400 per mound (every 40 kgs) to local zinger traders," said farmer Aiyub Ali of village Kathihara in Sadar upazila of Rangpur.
Retail vegetable traders Hafizur Rahman at City Bazar Market and Fazlur Rahman at Keranipara Kitchen Market in Rangpur city said they are selling ginger produced during the Kharif-1 season at rates between Taka 65 and Taka 75 per kg now.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said various pragmatic steps taken by the government through the DAE and other organisations are inspiring farmers in farming all varieties of spicy crops.
"There is a brighter prospect of expanding ginger farming through bringing fallow lands and homesteads under farming of high yielding varieties of the spicy crop to further increase its production in Rangpur agriculture region," Rashid said, reports BSS.