The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Harvesting of the major vegetable crop potato has been continuing in full swing everywhere in the country's northern region and a bumper production of the crop is expected with an excellent yield rate so far.

Market prices of potato continue falling, as the local markets have been flooded with huge quantity of the newly harvested potato everywhere in the northern region, market sources said.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) had fixed a target of producing 44,07,936 tonnes potato from 2,49,600 hectares during the current Rabi season in the region where the crop grew well following favourable climatic conditions, officials said today. The farmers brought about 15 to 20 percent more land than the fixed target under potato cultivation and better yield rates have created a possibility of an all-time record bumper production of the major crop this year.

Sources in the DAE said that the farmers timely completed sowing potato seeds this time and there was no seed scarcity at all following various steps taken by the government during the post- flood period in the region.

While talking to BSS on Wednesday, a number of farmers said, they had cultivated the major crop in more land than the fixed target for recovering the huge losses they had suffered in the agro-sector during the recent floods and brought a vast tract of the char lands in the river basins under potato farming this time.

Government Departments including the DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute and a number of NGOs also took steps for providing potato seeds and inputs among the farmers to make the programme a success, officials said. The concerned departments and authorities had also taken adequate steps for ensuring smooth supply of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, technical assistances and other inputs to the potato growers this season.

Potato is now being sold ate rates between Taka 9 and 16 per kg depending on their varieties and qualities in the local markets of the region, market sources said.

The commercial banks, other financial institutions and a number of NGOs provided easy- term agro- loans and the DAE and joint forces distributed seeds and other inputs among the small and marginal farmers for farming potato in more land this season.