Farmers in Mirsarai upazila of Chattogram are turning to maize, a profitable and nutritious crop that has added a new dimension to the upazila's agriculture. Maize grain is used as human food, and the plants and green leaves as high-quality cattle feed. There is also strong demand for it as feed for cattle, poultry and fish.

Farmers are keen on maize as a rabi crop because it takes less time and uses less groundwater. With favourable weather and no pest attacks, they expect good yields. Many have become self-reliant by growing maize on fallow and single-crop land, earning extra income. Much more maize has been grown than last year, and the upazila agriculture office says the area will grow further.

According to the Mirsarai upazila agriculture office, maize was grown on 46 hectares this year across the upazila's 16 unions and two municipalities. In 2023 the area was 36 hectares, so it has risen by 10 hectares this year.

The upazila has several poultry feed hatcheries. Each year they source more than 500 tonnes of maize from the local market for feed production and also have to import from India. Many poultry feed producers are therefore encouraging farmers to grow maize by covering their cultivation costs. Many cattle farmers are using maize as animal feed.

According to the agriculture department, several maize varieties are grown in Mirsarai, including Rocket-55, Super Sign, Tiger-55 and Kohinoor Pioneer. Hybrid KMSB-410 and BWMRI Hybrid-2 are grown most. Nahar Agro Group has grown the most maize in the upazila, farming its own land and leased land, and encouraging farmers to grow maize on fallow and single-crop land. Many farmers have made a profit and have expressed interest in growing the crop on a large scale.

Local farmers and traders said the dairy industry is growing fast in Mirsarai, with several large farms set up. These farms need a lot of maize every year to feed cattle. The need used to be met with maize brought from the north of the country; now it is being met with maize grown locally.

Sheikh Md Akter Hossain, a maize grower from Paschim Joar village in Karerhat union, said: "I used to buy maize from the north for cattle feed. But this year I have grown maize on 7.5 acres, which could produce 81 tonnes. Recently the field was somewhat damaged by a pest attack. I got no help from the agriculture office. No agriculture officer even came to see my field."

Mirsarai upazila agriculture officer Pratap Chandra Roy said: "It is possible to change farmers' fortunes through maize. Cultivation has increased this year compared with last year. Our sub-assistant agriculture officers are working to encourage farmers to grow maize alongside rice."

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