The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has fixed a target of producing over 1.04 lakh tonnes of mustard from 67,577 hectares of land in Rangpur division during the current Rabi season. Talking to BSS, the DAE officials said farmers cultivated mustard on 54,807 hectares of land and produced 79,462 tonnes of the oilseed in all eight districts under two agriculture regions of Rangpur division last year.

“The fixed production target of 1.04-lakh tonnes of mustard for this season is higher by 25,329 tonnes than the achieved production of 79,462 tonnes last season,” said Deputy Director of DAE at its regional office here Agriculturist Md Moniruzzaman.

The farmers have already completed sowing of mustard seed on 47,304 hectares of land, 70 percent against the fixed cultivation target of the oilseed till Wednesday in the division.

“The process of sowing mustard seed continues in full swing now and will continue till the third week of the current month,” Moniruzzaman said, and hoped that farmers may exceed the fixed mustard farming target this season in the region.

Under the program, 57,441 tonnes of mustard will be produced from 38,941 hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur agriculture region and 47,356 tones mustard from 28,636 hectares of land in Dinajpur agriculture region of Rangpur division.

“The farmers are mostly cultivating high yielding varieties of mustard like ‘Tori 7’, BARI-9, BARI-14, BARI-15, BINA-4 and other varieties of the oilseed on more land this time like in the previous season in the division,” Moniruzzaman said.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), NGOs and commercial banks are extending assistance to farmers to make the mustard cultivation program a success.

Talking to BSS, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh, Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said mustard farming has become popular on the vast riverine char areas like on the mainland of the division in last one decade.

“Sowing of mustard seed on vast char areas in the Dharla, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Kartoa, Atrai and Jamuna basins already completed though the process continues on the mainland,” Rashid said.

“The farmers are cultivating the oil seed as a cash crop on more lands both on the mainland and char areas after getting repeated bumper output with lucrative price every year adopting the newer cropping pattern to reap high profits,” he added.

Farmers Zahidul Islam, Rustam Ali and Mazed Ali of village Najirdigar in Rangpur Sadar said they have completed sowing of mustard seed and the tender plants are growing superbly amid favourable climatic conditions.

Additional Director of the for Rangpur agriculture region Agriculturists Muhammad Ali said the government is assisting farmers to increase production of the oilseed and make the country self-reliant on edible oil at its own.

Ali predicted a bumper production of mustard this season as farmers are showing their keen interest in bringing more land under cultivation of crop after getting its repeated bumper production and excellent price in recent years.