NATORE, Feb 16: Farmers in the district are cultivating pea widely to get good returns.
At present, cultivation and production of pea are good in the district. Farmers expect they will be able to earn Tk 100 crore.
According to official sources, pea has been cultivated on 1,077 hectares (ha) land in the district. These include 379 ha in Bagatipara Upazila, 250 ha in Sadar, 210 ha in Lalpur, 116 ha in Naldanga, 112 ha in Baraigram, and 10 ha in Gurudaspur Upazila.
The production target has been fixed at 13,000 metric tones (mt), worth about Tk 100 crore.
In the last year 12,000 mt of pea were produced from 1,012 ha.
Pea is cultivated in October, requiring 12 kilogram seeds per bigha. Only TSP and Potash fertiliser are applied lands. Per bigha cultivation cost is Tk 10,000.
Chand Miah, farmer of Naodapara area in Sadar Upazila, said, he has cultivated pea on two and a half bighas of land. He picked up 50 maunds of pea from the land two times. He expected 15 more maunds from it.
Farmer Al-Amin of Fatengapara Village who cultivated pea on two bigha land, said, after lifting pea crop, he will cultivate jute in that land. He got good profit from pea production, he added.
Everyday hundred maunds of pea are marketed in Habitpur, Dattapara and Chhatni Haat in Sadar Upazila for selling along with other vegetables. Wholesalers are coming from different parts of the country to buy peapods.
Hazrat Ali, farmer of Dattapara Haat said, he has sold 12 maunds of peapod at Tk 2,800 per maund.
Nilima Zahan, Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer, said the root of pea is used as fertiliser.
Md Abdul Wadud, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension- Natore, said production cost of pea is comparatively less; it has demand in the market; so, its price is high.
Peapod production is increasing day by day, he added.
