Pirojpur sunflower farmers all smiles

Farmers of Nazirpur's Baniary village in the district are happy with good production of sunflower which will be harvested within two weeks.

Because of favourable weather, production of sunflower is good this year and they are expecting to make good profit, farmers have said.

Toyob Ali Khan, a farmer of the village, said after harvesting aman paddy at the end of December they began to plant sunflower.

"It takes three months to get mature sunflower seeds," he said.

"Usually, we need to spend Tk 6,000 for cultivating sunflower in one bigha of land," said farmer Fazar Ali Khan of the village, adding that they can make profit of Tk 15,000 from the land.

Farmers have also said that they don't have to face any trouble in selling sunflower seeds.

"Sun flower seeds have high demand to the people as its oil is healthier than any other edible oil," said farmer Abul Sheikh adding they also use the oil for their family.

After harvesting sunflower from the field, they will cultivate jute and boro paddy in the same field, they said.

"Farmers can produce sunflower without much effort," said Bijan Krishna Howlader, sub-assistant agriculture officer of Nazirpur upazila agriculture office.

This year farmers have cultivated two varieties of highbred sunflower, he said.

Sunflower has been cultivated in 50 hectares of land in the upazila this year, he added.