A large number of growers in the Sylhet division have been showing their interest in farming varieties of winter crops during the current Rabi season.
Compared to the previous seasons, farmers are now more involved in cultivating Rabi crops (agricultural crops sown in winter) like mustard, wheat, potato, sweet potato, and onion, thanks to the increased assistance from the government organisations, said an official of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
Sources said a total of 7237 hectares of land have been brought under the cultivation of mustard with a production target of over 7300 metric tonnes.
The cultivation of high yielding varieties of mustard including Bari-14 and Bari-15 is gaining popularity in the district, while local variety Tori-7 is also being preferred, according to a DAE official.
On the contrary, the pace of wheat farming in Sylhet has remained almost same as the previous year.
The crop has been cultivated in some 1421 hectares of land, said sources.
High yielding varieties of wheat like Bari-27 and Bari-28 are being cultivated in 452 hectares of land in Sylhet, 96 hectares in Moulvibazar, 340 hectares in Habiganj, and 533 hectares in Sunamganj.
Dr Mamun Ur Rashid, Deputy Director of DAE’s divisional office said Potato has been cultivated in a total of 7045 hectares of land in the region.
The farming area includes 1475 hectares of land in Sylhet, 2142 hectares in Moulvibazar, 2020 hectares in Habiganj, and 1408 hectares in Sunamganj.