Summer beans farming has been gaining ground in this region including its vast Barind tract as the farmers get lucrative market price of the cash crop.
Large numbers of farmers are now engaged in bean cultivation commercially considering its economic prospect. The farmers obtained a significant success after farming the vegetable on 10 bigha of land for the first time in 2014.
Witnessing the success, over 300 farmers received training this season.
While visiting some farming areas of the region like Huzripara, Chowbaria, Darusha, Rajabari, Haripur and Pakira recently this reporter found farmers working in their bean-field with much enthusiasm.
The plants were covered with massive green leaves predicting a bumper production. At present, harvested beans has started appearing in the local markets on a limited scale.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said in the last year more than 200 farmers were imparted necessary training.
Only in Godagari upazila, the farmers cultivated summer beans on around 130 hectares. This year, the DAE supplied two hybrid varieties seed-Ghritakanchan and Rupbhan- to the interested farmers.
Ariful Islam, a farmer of Sorail village, had cultivated beans on 10 katha of low-lying land and harvested crops valued at Tk 34,000 last year. He spent Tk 17,000 for the farming purposes.
He told the news agency that a silent revolution has been taken place in summer beans farming in different areas of the Barind tract particularly Godagari upazila.
Beans cultivation has become an effective means of bringing fortune for many farmers in the vast Barind tract comprising 25 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon districts in both summer and winter seasons, said Jahangir Alam Khan, a development activist.
The farmers are becoming habituated to cultivating beans on the lands demarcating paddy fields as they are earning extra benefits from the same land.
Agriculturist Monjurul Haque, district training officer of DAE, said the farmers' cultivated early variety beans on around 500 hectares land in the Barind in the current season. Two varieties-Rupban and Ghritakanchon- are very much popular among the farmers as those are high yielding.
Marginal farmers and the poor people in the region are mostly engaged in this venture by making the best use of spaces around their homes over the last couple of years.
