Some traditional crops were losing concern for the farmers. They produce the same for family consumption earlier. But the scenario was changed a lot when it has potential to farmers for its food value and better market prices. Sweet potato, widely known as Mistialu or Moualu is such a crop which has been gaining popular the rural as well as urban people.
A farmer can harvest about 100 maunds of potato from one bigha of 40 decimal land in five months started from the transplanting. He might receive an amount Taka one lakh where he has to spend a total of Taka 10 thousand including seed plants, fertilizers, irrigation and labour purposes.
Farmer Shaidul Islam of village Jhaudia in Shailkupa upazila of Jhenaidah said that he is expecting 65 maunds of the crop from 26 decimals of in the season. It will ensure him Taka 65 thousand where he has to spend Taka eight thousand for production purposes.
Office of the deputy director of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jhenidah, the department had taken target to produce 1,620 tones of sweet potato on a total of 81 hectares of land in the current season. The area of land was 77 hectares in the last season from where the farmers had received 15,540 tones of the crop, DAE sources said.
Mosleh Uddin Tuhin, a sub assistant agriculture officer in Shailkupa municipality block of Jhenaidah said the farmer said the uncommon food item crop is no longer neglected to the people as it is also used with the flour (atta) to make breads at home. The same is widely used as alternative food after boiling n the rural villages. As the price f rice went increases, the people have been leaning towards the moualu gradually to meet their necessity, Shahidul Islam said.
Upazila agriculture officer (UAO) of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) at Shailkupa Akram Hossain when contacted said the sweet potato is a rich food items in rural Bangladesh since centuries together. Many types of cakes are also prepared from the same which is widely popular to the villagers.
He said sweet potato contains some important ingredients like Vitamin A, potassium and iron which helps remove iron deficiency in human body, reduces night blindness and dehydration as it contains 70 per cent of water with the flesh.
The government has been trying to increase the area of operation with high yielding verities of the potato as a part of meeting nutritious food demand in the country, UAO said.
