Carrot, onion harvesting going on in full swing in Manikganj

BSS, Manikganj :

The harvesting of Carrot is going on in full swing in Singair Upazila of the district with good production during the current season, the Department of Agriculture Extension sources said.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said they set a target of Carrot cultivation on 1055 hectares of land with a production target of 37,959 metric tons during the current season.
DAE office sources said carrot is the only vegetable that grows on special kind of land and Singair is the only Upazila of the district where the carrot grows abundantly.
The locals said carrot is a short period crop and it has a great demand in the markets, most of the carrots are supplied to the capital city Dhaka and different places in the country, they added.
Abdul Haque, 52 of village Dhalla under Singair upazila said cultivation of carrot is easy and it needs no irrigation and extra fertilizer. The green leaves of carrots are a good fodder for cattle heads. He said every day a group of traders come to the village and buy it from the cultivators. Many trucks wait at different points of the area to carry the carrots. Besides many labourers, mainly women are engaged in carrot harvesting.
Another cultivator Mainuddin said they are getting fair prices of their product, adding that per kilogram carrot are now being sold at Tk. 30- 35 in the markets, adding that it is one of the best cash crops of the people of Singair upazila.
Another reports adds: The harvesting of onion, the main cash crop of the farmers of three upazilas o Manikganj is going on in full swing with excellent production during the current season, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said.
The cultivation of onion exceeded its target in the district as the cultivators are getting fair prices and bumper production of their products, the sources added.
DAE office has set a target for cultivating onion on 6,500 hectares of land during the current season in all seven upazilas of the district with a production target of 96,395 metric tons of onion. But onion was cultivated on 6,782 hectares of land exceeding its fixed target by 282 hectares.
The DAE office had set a target for cultivating onion on 5,954 hectares of land last year with a production target of 63,113 metric tons of onion. But, the farmers had cultivated onion on 6,449 hectares of land exceeding the fixed target.
Most of the onion is cultivated in three upazilas of the district Harirampur, Ghior and Shibalaya. More than 80 percent of onion is cultivated only in those upazilas.
Ahmed Ali, 50, one of the onion cultivators of village Maluchi under Shibalaya upazila said “We have achieved a bumper production during the current season as we got quality seeds, fertilizers and other agri inputs at right time, adding that the prices of onion is declining with the appearance of newly harvested onion in the markets.”
Abu Mohammad Enayet Ullah, Deputy Director (DD) of DAE, said the land of three upazilas of the district is suitable for onion cultivation and the farmers of the areas cultivate this spicy product as one of the best cash crops.
Most of the onions of these areas are supplied to the various markets in the country including capital city Dhaka round the year, he said.