Kurigram, a northern border district with 16 rivers and about 450 chars, depends on agriculture as its people's only source of income. This year heavy rain and repeated floods delayed aman cultivation, but farmers are trying to recover by growing early winter vegetables. The target for winter vegetables in the district this season is 7,250 hectares, and production has so far begun on 710 hectares. The agriculture department says there will be no difficulty in reaching the target.

According to the Kurigram Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the agriculture department continues to supervise and advise farmers regularly in every upazila. Farmers are busy growing early winter vegetables, and a bumper yield is being seen this season compared with last year.

Bottle gourd, beans, pointed gourd, pumpkin, tomato, yardlong beans, cauliflower, cabbage, radish, papaya, bitter gourd and other vegetables are now being grown. Harvesting has started on much of the land, and the area under vegetables is growing day by day. The Kurigram district agricultural extension office says that barring natural disasters there will be no difficulty in reaching the target.

Saidul Islam of Araji Palashbari village in Holokhana union, Sadar upazila, said: "I am growing winter vegetables on 20 bighas in all, with bottle gourd on 3 bighas. I have started picking bottle gourds, and the yield and price are good. I have started selling bitter gourd from 4 bighas and cucumber from 3 bighas, at good prices. I am growing pumpkin on about 10 bighas and hope to harvest a good quantity."

Md Taijul Islam, a farmer of Kanthalbari union in Sadar upazila, said: "I have grown radish on 3 bighas, and it is yielding well. Heavy rain over the past few days has rotted the radish leaves, and I have sprayed pesticide three times. If there is no more heavy rain, I hope to profit from the radish."

Amjad Hossain, a farmer of the Aminbazar area in Chhinai union, Rajarhat upazila, said: "I have grown aubergine on 3 bighas, bottle-gourd leaves on 2 bighas, and red amaranth and radish greens on 1 bigha. The yield is good and I have started selling. Because I reached the market early, I am getting good prices."

Biplob Kumar Mohanta, deputy director of the Kurigram DAE, said: "This year the district target for winter vegetables is 7,250 hectares. So far production has started on 710 hectares. Winter vegetable cultivation has only just begun, and our work is going on. I hope there will be no difficulty in reaching the target this season."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.