A bumper potato production in eight northern districts of Bangladesh has compelled farmers to preserve the item in their indigenous methods as the total output far surpassed the capacity of cold storages.
Officials of Agriculture Extension Department (AED) are also helping and training farmers to preserve potato at homes.AED officials estimated that about 32, 00,000 tonnes of potato have been produced in 1,78,114 hectares in eight northern districts against last year's 1,46,0000 tonnes from 1,06,400 hectares. This year's target was to bring 1,12,200 hectares under potato cultivation. The production this year is 220% more than hat of last year, Noor Mohammad said. The total yield is worth about Tk 3,400 crore at the rate of Tk 900 per 84 kg bag.
He said space constraint in cold storages is a great problem now. Farmers are trying to overcome the problem by adopting indigenous preservation methods. This region has emerged as the biggest potato producing area of the country, superseding Munshiganj and Bogra. Rangpur region of AED comprises Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts.
He said space constraint in cold storages is a great problem now. Farmers are trying to overcome the problem by adopting indigenous preservation methods. This region has emerged as the biggest potato producing area of the country, superseding Munshiganj and Bogra. Rangpur region of AED comprises Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts.
