The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rajshahi

Vegetable farming has been gaining popularity everywhere in the northern region of the country for the last couple of years.

Side by side with the government agencies, different private organisations have undertaken special measures to ensure proper application and use of agricultural inputs in vegetable cultivation.

Official sources said, a number of companies responsible for ensuring supply of agriculture inputs are providing need-based training to their field level dealers, retailers and farmers' under the initiative.

Subsequently the trained beneficiaries are providing training to the growers. Thereby, the vegetable growers are getting adequate knowledge regarding application and use of seeds and other inputs particularly fertiliser and pesticides in their vegetable fields.

Horticulturist Dr Ittefaqul Azad told BSS that some 64,000 farmers produce vegetables on 17,000 hectares of land in the region. Of them, about 80 percent produce vegetables in commercial basis.

He said, the inputs retailers and local service providers (LSP) are playing a vital role to make the growers aware in inputs selection, its uses, proper application and cultivation.

Some private companies in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) are giving training aimed at creating awareness and building capacity of the farmers, LSPs and inputs dealers and retailers to overcome their limitations.

Demonstration plots were set up in winter and summer seasons to encourage and aware the farmers about the developed varieties of seeds and their uses.

As part of setting up the demonstration plots, the programme has provision for training on cultivation method of the quality seeds for the concerned farmers so that they could play effective role to share their attained knowledge with fellow farmers.

Due to lack of appropriate knowledge the farmers use excess fertilisers and pesticides in their fields which cause increase in production costs. The environment will also face threat of pollution and harmful effects of indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.