Farmers in Ulipur of Kurigram have started cultivating Boro with great enthusiasm with the hope of getting bumper yield and good price of Boro paddy this year.
Farmers of different unions of the upazila are busy in saplings, boro weeding, pesticide, fertilizer application and irrigation in the current season. Farmers are seeing the possibility of bumper yield in borough cultivation as the weather has been favorable so far. All in all, there is a smile on their faces now.
According to the Upazila Agriculture Department, the target for boro paddy cultivation in one municipality and 13 unions in the upazila has been set at 21,176 hectares and the production target has been set at 95,292 tonnes.
It can be seen that the farmers are busy in weeding and irrigating the land from morning till evening. Men and women are weeding Boro paddy land in groups. Someone is busy applying pesticides and chemical fertilizers on the land.
Hafizur Rahman, an ideal farmer of Narikel Bari village in the municipality, said he has planted boro paddy in 24 bighas of land. And gave 12 bighas of land leased. The cost per bigha of land is Tk 1000 for planting paddy seeds, for preparing land Tk 825, for applying medicine Tk 400, for cultivating the land Tk 1050 and other some variable expenses are there. Besides, for three months water irrigation Tk 2003, for cutting and threshing paddy Tk 4000 are needed among others.
With this, the total cost of cultivation per bigha of land will be Tk 13014. If the yield is good and the price is good then this cost and effort will be worth it. Other farmers of the upazila also said the same thing as farmer Hafizur Rahman.
Ali, who is a sharecropper in West Shivbari of the municipality, said that by cultivating one bigha of land, we have to count a loss of Tk 2500 to Tk 3000. Even then, I work with my wife and child for two meals a day.
Sekendar Ali, a farmer from Nagarakura Nandunefara village in Gunaigachha union, said, “The rise in prices of chemical fertilizers and diesel oil would reduce profits this year. There has also been a labor crisis due to brick kilns during the Boro season. Most of the workers work in brick kilns. A worker worth Tk 300 cannot be found even with Tk 500 offering.
In this regard, Upazila Agriculture Officer Saiful Islam said, Boro paddy planting has been completed. Fertilizer application, weeding and irrigation work is going on now. Targets are likely to be achieved if the weather is favorable.
