Bumper yield brings smile to Tangail peanut growers

Bumper yield of peanut on the char areas of Bhuapur, Kalihati, Sadar and Nagarpur upazilas of the district has brought smiles to the growers.

According to a source in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), DG-2 variety of peanut was cultivated on 2,240 hectares (5600 acres) of land under the four upazilas this year. Peanut is the most profitable among all crops cultivated on the sandy lands in the char areas of the Jamuna and Dhaleswari rivers, the source added.

During a recent visit, this correspondent saw the char land in Bhuapur full of brown coloured peanuts.

"The land here is very suitable for peanut farming and its production this year is more than last year's," said farmer Abdul Latif of Chandipur village under Gabsara union in the upazila.

"This year, we got 10 to 12 maunds of peanut from each bigha of land. As each maund of raw peanut is selling in the market at Tk 2,200 to 2,400 currently, we can earn Tk 15,000 to 20,000 after excluding production costs," he added.

Farmer Anwar Hossain of Razapur village in the same union said he spent Tk 4,000 for cultivating peanuts on two bighas of land. He sold his produce for Tk 28,000.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Boni Amin said peanut cultivation could become more profitable if it is cultivated in a planned way.

The increasing peanut cultivation in the char areas has added a new dimension to local agriculture, said Abul Hasem, deputy director of DAE in Tangail.

The local sub-assistant agriculture officers have been directed to provide necessary assistance for the farmers to cultivate peanuts, he added.