Cultivation of peanuts (groundnuts) at the sandy charland of the river Padma in Rajshahi is getting popular day by day. Farmers have been earning a good profit by cultivating the peanut at a low cost. So they are interested in cultivating peanuts in the charland.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension in Rajshahi, the peanut has been cultivated on 408 hectares of charland of the river Padma in four upazilas of Rajshahi during the current season. Last year, the cultivation was on 205 hectares of land.
Farmers have cultivated Dhaka-1, BARI-4 and BINA-8 varieties of peanuts in their fields. It costs Taka 5,000 to 6,000 for cultivation of peanuts on one bigha of land including the seeds and the labour cost.
If the weather condition remains favourable, farmers are expected to harvest six to nine maunds of peanuts from a bigha of land which they can sell at Taka 15,000 to 18,000.
Afsar Ali of village Majardiar informed, last year he cultivated peanuts on one bigha of land. He earned a profit of Taka 10,000 from selling the peanut. This year he cultivated peanuts on three bighas of land. He hoped to get a good harvest this year if the weather condition remains favourable.
Asgar Ali of the same village has started cultivating peanuts for the first time this year. As many farmers were making a lot of profit from peanut cultivation, he became interested to cultivate it on three bighas of land this year.
Iqbal Hossain, Deputy Assistant Agriculture Officer of Rajshahi said, “Farmers of Charkhidirpur have increased cultivation of peanuts this year as they get good profit from it.”
“Peanuts have been growing in the charlands of the river Padma for the last couple of years. Being profitable, the cultivation of peanuts has been increasing here every year,” he added.
Shamsul Haque, Deputy Director of DAE, Rajshahi district said that the pattern of cultivation of various crops is changing with the change of climate. It is usual that farmers will opt for those crops which prove profitable for them. The cultivation of peanuts is increasing in the charlands of Padma. DAE was making exhibition plots of peanuts in chars of Paba and Bagha upazilas to make the farmers interested in peanut cultivation, he further said.