The farmers in six upazilas of Jhenaidah district have produced 19,000 tonnes of mustard seeds on 13,290 hectares of land in the current Rabi season.

They have harvested 1.42 tonnes of mustard seeds from each hectare of land on average, said the farmers and the officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah.

Farmer Hafizur Rahman, 55, of village Gabla in Shailkupa upazila said he cultivated mustard on his 30 decimals of land in the current season. He said he sowed the seeds in mid-October and harvested the output after three months between mid-December to late December. He harvested 45 maunds of the oilseeds in the season, the market price of which would be approximately Tk70,000 to Tk75,000. He had spent Tk13,000 to Tk15,000 for seeds, fertiliser, irrigation, day labourers and other charges. As a result, he will get at least Tk55,000 as net profit.

According to Hafizur Rahman, he could not earn this amount of profit by cultivating rice, wheat or other crops. He preferred mustard farming considering two things. The first was his family members felt comfort in using mustard oil for cooking and other external uses. Secondly, he would get better prices from the seeds as it has high demand in the market. The acreage of mustard farming in his area is increasing gradually, the farmer informed.

According to the office of the deputy director of DAE in Jhenaidah’s Khamarabari, they had set a target to produce 18,872 tonnes of mustard seeds on 13,290 hectares of land in the current season expecting 1.42 tonnes of seeds from each hectare of land.

As per the DAE data, mustard was cultivated on 3,827 hectares in Jhenaidah sadar, 1,256 hectares in Kaliganj, 478 hectares in Kotchandpur, 957 hectares in bordering Moheshpur, 3,729 hectares in Shailkupa and remaining 3,043 hectares of land in Harinakundu.

In the last season, farmers in the district have produced 15,820 tonnes of mustard seeds in six upazilas while they harvested 1.42 tonnes from each hectare on average, the DAE sources said.

DAE Deputy Director of Jhenaidah Khamarbari, Asgar Ali said that mustard seeds have a good demand throughout the country as most of the farmers’ families consume mustard oil as edible oil for its medicinal potential. The demand is increasing rapidly among the common people as well for its good taste, he said, adding that, the satisfactory price of the mustard seeds has been encouraging the farmers to expand the acreage of mustard farming every year. It will help strengthen farmers’ socio-economic base, DAE deputy director said.