10 S-W districts see bumper production of maize
Ten south-western districts under the jurisdiction of Jessore regional office of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) see bumper production of maize in the current season.
Favourable weather, use of standard HYV seeds, availability of bank loans, relief from pest attack and rainfall during October and November helped better growth of maize this season, said sources at Jessore regional office of DAE.
This season the department has set production target of 3,92,382 tonnes of maize in south-western districts of Narail, Jessore, Jhenidah, Magura, Bagerhat, Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Satkhira and Khulna.
The target will exceed much as farmers are getting 75 to 80 maunds (one maund = 40 kg) of maize per acre (100 decimals) of land, DAE sources said.
This year farmers have cultivated maize on 60,401 hectares of land in the 10 districts while it was 41,898 hectares last year.
Chuadanga sees the highest 40,515 hectares of land under maize cultivation in this season.
It is followed by 10,649 hectares in Jhenidah, 7,395 hectares in Kushtia, and 1,655 hectares in Meherpur district.
Maize was also cultivated in small scales in six other districts of the region.
Maize cultivation is gaining popularity in Jessore region due to its increasing demand, high prices, easy cultivation process and lower production cost, said farmers and DAE officials.
During visit to different areas in Monirumpur upazila under Jessore district on Friday, this correspondent saw farmers busy in harvesting maize.
"Production cost of maize is Tk 7,000 per hectare and the profit being earned is Tk 11,000 to Tk 13,000. Last year's good production of boro paddy could not make us happy as the prices are low. This year we cultivated maize and got bumper production due to favourable weather," Babul Akter, a farmer of Monirumpur upazila, said.
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