After cutting and threshing their Aus rice, farmers in Kishoreganj upazila of Nilphamari are now busy planting early potatoes. On Thursday (23 September) farmers were seen planting field after field with potatoes of the Seven variety along with Sakita, Karej and Jamplus, the weather being favourable this year as in others.

The upazila agriculture office said the target for early potatoes this year has been set at 4,140 hectares. Once short-duration early Aus and Aman rice is cut and threshed, early potato seed is being planted in the same land, and the fields are full of activity.

In Uttar Durakuti village, Shamim Hossain Babu is planting potatoes on 25 bighas this year. He said that after harvesting Aus and early Aman, the short-duration rice that drives away monga (the lean season), he is now planting potatoes that will be ready in 55 days. Last year he grew early potatoes on 21 bighas, spent Tk 3 lakh 50 thousand, sold them for Tk 12 lakh 90 thousand and made a profit of Tk 8 lakh 40 thousand after costs.

Potato farmers Akbar Ali and Ratan Ali of Dighaltari village in Ranachandi union said that last year, after the early rice harvest, they lifted potatoes from 6 bighas, sold them at Tk 80 a kg and made three times their costs in profit. This year they have doubled the area to 12 bighas. In Bahagili village, Rafiqul Islam is planting early potatoes on 15 bighas, Sabina Begum on 10 bighas and Milon Mia on 18 bighas.

Kishoreganj upazila agriculture officer Habibur Rahman said the soil of the upazila is very well suited to early potatoes. Although the target is 4,140 hectares, the area could grow to 7,000 hectares.

He added that this year the upazila produced Aus rice on 2,000 hectares and short-duration hybrid rice that drives away monga on 1,200 hectares, and farmers are now planting early potatoes on the same land. Sub-assistant agriculture officers from the agriculture office are in the field advising and helping farmers with early potato cultivation.

Twelve years ago, the months of Ashwin and Kartik were known as the months of want in the five districts of greater Rangpur. Those days are gone. Village farmers themselves say the Sheikh Hasina government's agricultural revolution, through crop diversification and early crops, has changed their fortunes.

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