The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Officials are expecting an all-time record bumper maize production in the country's northern region as farmers have brought 50 percent more land under the crop cultivation programme this year.

The crop is now in full bloom everywhere and the late variety maize plants are also growing excellent under favourable climatic conditions predicting a bumper production of the cash crop, harvesting of which will begin from next month-end, officials said today.

They said, there was no scarcity of seeds this time as huge quantities of the same were distributed among the farmers under the post-flood agriculture rehabilitation programme and other government programmes.

The early variety maize fields, which are now in full bloom, have worn very eye-catching looks everywhere in the region including the vast tracts of the sandy-barren char lands in the river basins, officials and farmers said.

The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) had fixed a target of producing 7,86,602 tonnes maize from 1,35,155 hectares of land in the region this year that is an all-time record target for the region.

But the farmers have cultivated the cash crop in 2,02,600 hectares that is 50 percent higher than the targeted land and the overall maize production may be around 12 lakh tonnes this season.

Officials said, cultivation of maize in vast sandy-char land and in the dried-up beds of the rivers and their tributaries in the region brought about a revolutionary change to the poor farmers and unemployed youths that encouraged every one in recent years.

Besides, the adequately favourable soil, climatic and topographic condition and growing poultry feed industries have encouraged the farmers in farming the low-cost cash crop of maize in more lands.