There has been a good yield of maize in Sylhet region this season while farming of the crop has also been on increase in the division.
Growers in the division are showing their interest in growing maize for better returns for consecutive years.
According to a report prepared on the basis of district reports, maize is being cultivated on 1,977 hectares of land in the division against the last year's 695 hectares.
It included 795 hectares in Sylhet district against the last year's 265 hectares, while it is 245 hectares in Moulvibazar district against 55 hectares in the last year. Same way there has been good rise in Habiganj with 510 hectares this year against last year's 100 hectares and in Sunamganj it has been 427 hecatres whereas it was 275 hectares last year.
The DAE has set a good number of demonstration plots for wooing the common farmers in the high yielding varieties of the crop.
Deputy Director of DAE, Sylhet divisional office, Mazumdar Mohammad Ilias said commercial farming of crops like maize and others are on the rise day by day whereas most of the people of this region had almost no interest in such crops' farming years ago while huge tracts of land remained fallow.
However, in alongside the different ongoing projects of the DAE, the special programme named 'Raising crop intensity in Sylhet division' has been contributing well in motivating and engaging farmers with modern methods of agriculture and high-value crops in the region, the official added. Maize can be cultivated here during both Rabi and Kharif seasons.
Although the common farmers were less interested in maize mainly for poor marketing facilities in Sylhet region years ago, but is over by now as a marketing chain has been established. In the last year some farmers suffered trouble for selling their produces, but at last some wholesale buyers from Kishoreganj, Cumilla and other regions bought these from this region. Now it is over, officials and farmers said.
