EnvironmentFlocks of parakeets, known locally as Hiraman, feed every morning in the fields of Donail village in Badalgachhi; a local young man has grown grass for them at his own cost, and 60 to 70 photographers have come from around the country.
CropsAs they prepare land for potato, mustard and onion, farmers in Kalikapur union of Manda, Naogaon, received an October allocation of 200 bags of DAP against demand for 2,500, and blocked the Naogaon-Rajshahi highway.
CropsThe Lower Purnabhaba Floodplain (AEZ-06) in western Naogaon and northern Chapainawabganj is shaped by heavy acidic clay, low basins and seasonal flooding, and shows why reliable farming decisions rest on field-level evidence, not regional averages.
FisheriesNahid Hossain, a disabled entrepreneur in Raninagar, raises black soldier fly larvae on household and market waste to feed his fish; a kilo costs about Tk 65 to produce and sells for Tk 250 to 270.
FruitsAmjad Hossain of Chuarpur, Badalgachhi, spent about Tk 500,000; at two maunds a tree and Tk 1,200 a maund he expects about 2,400 maunds worth Tk 2.88 million.
BangladeshThe Lower Atrai Basin, Bangladesh's fifth agro-ecological zone, covers about 85,000 hectares of low land in Naogaon and Natore. Two-thirds of it is lowland, its heavy grey clays are acidic, and it is bound up with Chalan Beel, where fields that lie under water in the monsoon carry Boro rice in the dry season. Land use is changing fast. Satellite data and artificial intelligence can help track that change, provided every prediction is tested in farmers' fields.
GalleryThe plum-headed parakeet is one of Bangladesh's seven parakeet species; Prothom Alo photographer Hasan Mahmud captured flocks feeding on grain at Mohadipur in Badalgachhi, Naogaon, at morning and dusk.
CropsRecent rain has eased drought and irrigation costs in aman fields of Charghat and Raninagar; Raninagar planted about 18,500 hectares against a target of 19,070.
CropsJute yields and fibre quality are both good in Naogaon this year, and at Manda's Sotihat market a maund sells for Tk 3,800 to 4,500 depending on quality and variety.
With diesel up Tk 20 to Tk 135 a litre, Naogaon farmers reckon irrigation, tillage, threshing and transport will cost Tk 1,500-2,500 more a bigha, and fear losses in the coming Boro season.
With the mainstream mango crop finished in Naogaon, Sohel Rana's Barind Agro in Sapahar has 1,800 Gourmoti and 1,700 Katimon trees in fruit; after selling more than Tk 1 crore of seasonal mango he expects 400 maunds of Gourmoti at Tk 8,000 and 450 maunds of Katimon at Tk 7,000, employing ten local y
Farmers in Naogaon have had a good aus harvest but are selling paddy at Tk 650 to Tk 800 a maund, well below cost, and are calling for government procurement in the aus season.
Under the Kharif-2 incentive programme, farmers in the district's 11 upazilas each received 5 kg of seed, 10 kg of DAP and 10 kg of MOP for one bigha; Niamatpur (5,100) and Mohadevpur (5,000) had the most beneficiaries.
