The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Bhurungamari

Speakers at a farmers' field day have called for increasing 'mug' pulse farming in relay-method of crop cultivation in the Monga-hit greater Rangpur to meet the nutritional demand of the country's population.

They also said that expanded mug farming could bring more profits to the farmers side by making the land fertile and reducing dependence on import of huge quantity of various pulses from abroad at the cost of foreign exchange.

They said this at a discussion meeting organised to mark the farmers' field day at Bango Sonahat High School ground in Bhurungamari upazila of Kurigram district on the occasion of visiting ripe 'mug' pulse fields here Wednesday.

Bhurungamari Upazila Agriculture Extension Office and Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) jointly organised the field day with the assistance of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI).

The objectives of the field day and discussion meeting were to encourage farmers to expand BARI-6 variety 'mug' farming that takes only two months to grow and helps the poor farmers achieving more profits and increases crop intensity in the area.

Chaired by Upazila Agriculture Extension Officer Azahar Ali Mandal, the occasion was attended by Principal Scientific Officer of the Pulse Research Institute Dr Jalal Uddin as the chief guest, while its Chief Scientific Officer Dr Harun attended as the special guest.

Senior Manager (Crop) of RDRS Bakeruzzaman, local pulse growers Enamul Haque and Alamgir Hossain, Principal Babul Akhter, Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer Ali Azam, also spoke on the occasion.

They said that 'mug' could be a major cash crop on the huge tract of lands in all eight districts of greater Rangpur and Dinajpur in near future to produce huge quantity of the pulse to eradicate poverty from the region.