Wheat farming in Barisal division triples in 4 years

Cultivation area and production of wheat in four districts of Barisal division saw about three-fold increase in last four years, thanks to the initiative of Integrated Agricultural Productivity Project (IAPP) of agriculture ministry.

In fiscal year (FY) 2013-14, 10,997 tonnes of wheat was produced on 3,672 hectares of land in four districts of the division, the amount being 10,265 tonnes on 3,259 hectares in Barisal district alone, according to the statistics of IAPP in Barisal division.

The amount was only 2,889 tonnes on 1,213 hectares in 2010-11 FY under this project, said IAPP sources.

Lower production cost of wheat, its less dependence on irrigation, and less volatile prices compared to irrigation-dependent, salinity sensitive boro paddy might have encouraged growers to sow the grain on more areas of lands, said Dr AKM Mizanur Rahman, regional project manager of IAPP in Barisal.

Purchase of wheat by the government authorities acted as incentive to farmers while supply of quality seeds contributed to higher yield per hectare, farmers said.

"In recent years, breeders at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari) developed six high-yielding and salinity resistant wheat seed varieties like BARI GOM- 20, 22, 24, 25, 26 and 27, to rejuvenate farmers' interest in the crop. The varieties also contain high amounts of protein," Dr Mizanur said.

"We are interested in wheat farming as it brings more profit that boro," said Mannan, a wheat farmer.