Farmers are satisfied with the abundant yield of sunflowers in Mirzaganj of Patuakhali. At the different areas of the six unions of the upazila, carpets of sunflower can be seen all over the field. Tourists are coming to the sunflower fields every day to enjoy the beauty of flowers. Sunflower cultivation is increasing every year in the upazila. This year too, the crop fields are full of flowers. Sunflower cultivation is increasing day by day in this upazila in the hope of more profit due to the increase in the price of edible oil.
According to the upazila agriculture office, this year sunflower has been cultivated on 38 hectares of land in the upazila. Agriculture department has given 50 farmers government incentives for cultivating sunflower. They also said that each sunflower plant has one flower. The crop can be harvested within 90-100 days of sowing. 20-22 thousand Tk are spent per acre of land. And it is possible to earn 60-65 thousand Tk from the seeds produced on one acre of land. Sunflower plants can also be used as fuel.
Going to Ranipur of the upazila, it can be seen that the entire upazila is covered with yellow sunflowers. People who love nature are rushing to observe such a charming scene. Some are taking photos and expressing their feelings on social media Facebook. But the goal of sunflower cultivation is not mere entertainment. It is being cultivated mainly to meet the food demand through the production of edible oil.
Razzak Akan, a sunflower grower of Ranipur village, said that with the help and advice of the upazila agriculture department, he cultivated sunflowers on 50 percent of his uncultivated land. If the cultivation of sunflower is profitable, then in the future I will cultivate it widely with more preparations.
Abdus Salam, another farmer of the same village, said, with the help of the Upazila Agriculture Department, I cultivated sunflowers on 1 acre of land. I got free fertilizer and seeds from agriculture office. The yield has been very good. Hopefully, the oil from sunflower seeds will go away this year.
Upazila Agriculture Officer agriculturist Arafat Hossain said sunflower will play an important role in meeting the oil shortage in the country. In addition, for this purpose, the government is giving incentives to sunflower farmers.
Therefore, according to government instructions, 50 farmers of the upazila have been given incentives for sunflower cultivation this year. We are constantly advising and monitoring farmers on sunflower cultivation. This year the yield in the upazila has also been as expected. In this way, if the farmers of the upazila are keen on sunflower cultivation, then much of the demand for edible oil will be fulfilled from here.
He also said that there is no cholesterol in this oil, due to which the demand is increasing day by day. It is short life span and profitable than other crops.
That is why farmers are benefiting from sunflower cultivation and day by day farmers are turning to sunflower cultivation.