BOGURA, Feb 03: Different kinds of winter vegetables farming has become a boon for hundreds of marginal peasants in Bogura district as they sell their produces at a high price.
Lucrative profit mostly encouraged the growers to produce spinach, water spinach, spring onion, snake bean, red spinach, creeper arum, Malaber spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, bean, radish, brinjal, ladies finger and pumpkin.
With the assistance of district Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), the farmers have cultivated abundant vegetables this season to meet the consumers' demand both at home and abroad.
Over 4,000 extreme poor farmers in the district are busy taking care of their farms for getting bumper output and fair market price, said sub-assistant agriculture officer Faridur Rahman. Earlier the farmers have been provided with agro-inputs, he added.
According to DAE office sources, they have set a target to cultivate winter vegetables on 25,500 hectares of land this year which is 850 hectares higher than last year.
DAE again said the area is regarded as one of the best vegetables producing areas of the country as they supply good number of vegetables across the country meeting local demand.
Peasants generally cultivate winter vegetables early in October and begin harvesting them from the last week of November. The winter crops can be protected from pest attack by spraying pesticide and pheromone trap.
"I have cultivated snake bean this year on 12 decimals of land in mid-October with an expenditure of around Tk 3,000 and sold some seven maunds of crops at Tk 14,000," said farmer Nur Uddin under Shibganj upazila of the district.
"I have already made a profit Tk 11,000 paying seeds, fertilser, labour and pesticide cost and expecting to make over Tk 6,000 from the rest of crops." he added.
DAE officials said we encourage farmers to grow winter vegetable abundantly in the region providing logistic support. Responding to our call, farmers are inclining towards winter vegetable cultivation, DAE added.
