Sesame harvesting is going on in full swing in all seven upazilas of Manikganj district, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said.

As favourable weather was prevailing in the district, the cultivators saw bumper production in the current season.

DAE officials said they had set a target of sesame cultivation on 3,850 hectares of land with a production target of 4,235 tonnes of sesame during the current season.

However, sesame was cultivated on 3,971 hectares of land, exceeding its target by 121 hectares of land in the district.

The good production of sesame and its fair prices have been encouraging the farmers to spread their cultivation over the last several years, the sources said.

Deputy Director of DAE Abu Mohammad Enayet Ullah said the land in the district, especially the vast char areas of Harirampur, Shibalaya, and Daulatpur upazilas, is suitable for sesame cultivation, and the farmers are getting reasonable prices for their production.

The sandy char areas of Harirampur, Shibalaya, and Daulatpur upazilas of the district remained barren for a long time. But now, most of those lands are being brought under sesame cultivation.

Some of the farmers of Harirampur and Daulatpur upazilas in the district said that they are interested in cultivating sesame as it grows in barren fallow land and is very easy to cultivate and harvest.