Dhaka: Farmers are expecting 29,000 tones of sweet potato production in the district this year, marking a notable increase of 807 tones from the previous year.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) office sources revealed that 1,144 hectares of land were utilized for sweet potato cultivation in Jamalpur this year, which exceeds the initial cultivation target by 47 hectares.
Farmers in the district have planted a variety of sweet potato seeds, including BARI-2, BARI-3, BARI-4, BARI-8, BARI-9, BARI-14, Tripti, Kamola Sundari, Murasaki, Okinawa, and KKE-14, along with local varieties. Anup Sinha, the Agriculture Officer of Sarishabari Upazila, noted that a substantial amount of land in Char areas was brought under sweet potato cultivation this year. He mentioned that the prospect of profitability has encouraged farmers to allocate more land for this crop in the Upazila.
In Sarishabari Upazila, farmers cultivated sweet potatoes on 675 hectares of land, yielding 26 tones per hectare, surpassing the target of 25.73 tones. The DAE office detailed that sweet potatoes were also cultivated on 220 hectares in Islampur, 195 hectares in Madarganj, 8 hectares in Dewanganj, 15 hectares in Bakshiganj, 15 hectares in Melandah, and 16 hectares in Jamalpur Sadar Upazila.
Zakia Sultana, the Deputy Director of DAE, stated that farmers are drawn to sweet potato cultivation due to its lower production costs and fair pricing. The agriculture department is actively supporting farmers to boost cultivation and enhance production levels.