The farmers of char areas of Daulatpur, Shibalaya and Harirampur Upazilas of the district are happy for getting bumper output of groundnut as harvesting of the crop has started on the barren char lands during the current Kharif-1 season.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials here said the groundnut is generally cultivated on the sandy land.
Experimentally, some local farmers started to cultivate groundnut on their barren land which would remain fallow all over the year in the char areas for the last few years, they said, adding that seeing their success, a number of farmers now are cultivating groundnut in the vast char areas of the Jamuna and the Padma rivers.
The char farmers are getting fair prices of the crop between Tk. 2000 and 2400 per mound as per its quality while it has high demand in the local markets.
DAE office sources said they set a target of groundnut cultivation on 2600 hectares of land in the upazila of the district, but about 2700 hectares of land has been cultivated groundnut during the Kharip-1 season in the district, exceeding its fixed target.
Rifazuddin, one groundnut cultivator of char kalikapur of Baghutia union of Daulatpur upazila, said he had cultivated groundnut on two bighas of land this season and was getting expected production and prices.
Md. Haydar Ali, another groundnut cultivator of Harirampur upazila, said groundnut cultivation is gaining popularity in the char areas as it grows in the sandy barren land and it needs no irrigation and fertilizer.
Now groundnut became one of the cash crops for the char people, he said, adding groundnut is cultivated twice in the year in the winter and summer seasons.
The sources said the cultivators are getting opportunity to sell their crops at the nearest bazaars and even at their homes as a good number of buyers regularly visit the areas for searching the groundnuts. A group of middle men also earn attractive money trading this seasonal crop.
Md. Shahjahan Ali Biswas, Deputy Director of DAE, said the sandy land of char area is suitable for groundnut cultivation and its cultivation is gaining popularity in the three Upazilas of Daulatpur, Shibalaya and Harirampur day by day.