| (BSS) - Farmers in nine districts of Rajshahi division are happy with bumper yield and good prices of wheat in the current season.
Like last year, wheat has produced a bumper harvest in Rajshahi this season as well.
Encouraged by good yields and favorable market prices, farmers are becoming increasingly interested in wheat cultivation.
As a result, the area under wheat farming has been expanding every season, with more land brought under cultivation this year compared to previous years.
Farmers say that wheat yields range from 10 to 12 maunds per bigha. At the same time, market prices are relatively good, and they expect to receive favorable prices this season too.
Many farmers have opted to grow wheat instead of planting potatoes or mustard immediately after harvesting Aman paddy.
Wheat cultivation requires relatively low investment and offers good profits. Farmers are now harvesting their wheat crops.
In Porsha upazila of Naogaon district, wheat cultivation has increased compared to last year as more land has been brought under the crop.
According to the upazila DAE office, the cultivation target for the current Rabi season was 4,820 hectares, while wheat has been cultivated on 4,640 hectares. However, the area under wheat farming has increased by 285 hectares compared to the previous season.
Farmers have cultivated improved wheat varieties such as WMRI-2, BARI-30, BARI-32 and BARI-33, which are known for higher yields and improved tolerance to diseases.
During the Rabi season, wheat has been cultivated on 125,000 hectares of land in the Rajshahi division. Officials from the Department of Agricultural Extension said that favorable weather conditions have led to a bumper harvest. The agriculture department expects total production in the region to reach around 540,000 metric tons.
Agricultural officials noted that wheat cultivation is increasing in the drought-prone Barind region, as it is more profitable than many other crops and requires less water. This has encouraged farmers to take up wheat farming.
Farmers are cultivating improved varieties such as Bari-30, Bari-32, and Bari-33, which are yielding higher outputs.
Farmers also mentioned that wheat requires comparatively less irrigation and labor, making it a profitable crop.
With the introduction of climate-resilient varieties, many farmers are showing growing interest in wheat cultivation.
Ismail Hossain, a farmer from Bhatupura village in Godagari upazila, cultivated improved varieties of wheat on 100 bighas of land.
He said the cost of cultivating wheat per bigha ranges from about 6,500 to 7,000 taka. From sowing to harvesting, the crop requires only two irrigations.
Due to favorable weather, yields of 10 to 12 maunds per bigha are being achieved.
Saifullah Ahmed, Agriculture Officer of Tanore upazila, said that due to the gradual decline in groundwater levels in the Barind region-especially in Tanore-farmers have been advised to cultivate wheat using limited irrigation.
To promote wheat cultivation, improved wheat seeds have been distributed among farmers under various incentive, demonstration, and support programs.
Dr. Azizur Rahman, Additional Director of Rajshahi Regional Agricultural Extension, said that all field-level officers and staff are working actively to achieve production targets.
In fact, more land is being brought under wheat cultivation than the targets set by the Department of Agricultural Extension.
Dr. Zaherul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer at the Regional Wheat and Maize Research Center, said that farmers in the Barind region are becoming more confident about wheat cultivation, as it requires relatively less water.
The research center has so far released 24 wheat varieties along with several appropriate technologies for commercial cultivation.
Among the recently released varieties, Prodip, Bijoy, Shatabdi, and Bari Wheat-26 are resistant to leaf blight and leaf rust and provide high yields. The latest variety, Bari-33, is resistant to blast disease, enriched with zinc, has bold grains, and offers high productivity.
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