Sunflower cultivation for oil has expanded in Mirsharai upazila of Chattogram, with many farmers taking it up on the advice of the upazila agriculture office. Farmer Md Mohiuddin hopes to profit from sunflower, which he has grown on 32 decimals of land in the Amtali area of Dakshin Moghadia village in Saherkhali union.

The plants are already in flower, each bloom smiling towards the sun. With yellow flowers and green plants all around, it is a lovely sight. Every day people from nearby areas come to see the sunflower fields, and many take photos standing among the flowers.

According to the Mirsharai upazila agriculture office, about 20 farmers have grown sunflower on 10 hectares across the upazila this year as demonstration plots.

On the spot, the surroundings glowed yellow in the sunlight. The flowers face the sun: in the morning they look east, and as the day goes on they turn with the sun. Across the wide fields, it is a mass of yellow amid the green, and people crowd in every day to see it.

Md Nur Uddin, a sunflower farmer in Hinguli union of the upazila, said he has again grown sunflower on one acre this year and the yield is good. He will grow it on more land in future.

Mohiuddin, a farmer in the Dakshin Moghadia Ghona area of the upazila, said he has taken up sunflower for the first time. Two months ago he collected sunflower seed free from the upazila agriculture office and also received fertiliser for the crop. He has also grown mustard, rice, bottle gourd, cucumber, pumpkin and sponge gourd on his land.

Mirsharai upazila agriculture officer Pratap Chandra Roy said: "As every year, sunflower for oil has been grown on about 10 hectares in the upazila. Farmers are given all kinds of help, starting with seed. Cultivation may expand in future."

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