Quinoa being grown in Lalmonirhat for second time
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Superfood Quinoa, a foreign crop is being grown for the second time in Lalmonirhat. This crop has been cultivated on 55 decimals of land at Hatura village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila this year. This crop can be harvested in mid-March. Last year, Quinoa was cultivated in Lalmonirhat for the first time.
Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat Shamim Ashraf said Quinoa looks like a granular crop like Chinese kaun. It is a North American crop. After five years of research at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, quinoa was cultivated in Bangladesh for the first time last year.
He said Quinoa is a high protein food. This is called a superfood as it contains amino acids and it is also rich in lysine which helps in the growth of healthy tissues.
Quinoa is an excellent source of iron, magnesium, vitamin E, potassium and fibre. When it is cooked, its grains swell four times in size, he added.
"This year, the yield of Quinoa will be as expected. If farmers only get the marketing facilities, they will be interested to cultivate Quinoa and will earn as expected," he said adding, that 'We are working to create a market linkage for quinoa.'
Mukul Mia, a farmer from Hatura village in Sadar upazila, said he got 90 maunds (each maund equal 40 kgs) Quinoa from 13 decimals of land last year. He has cultivated it on 55 decimals of land this year.
"I have been cultivating quinoa with the help of a private company. The leaves of the Quinoa tree can be used as a vegetable," he also said.
Mukul said it costs Tk 300-TK 400 for cultivating Quinoa in each decimal of land. He has sold Quinoa at Tk 500-Tk 600 per kg. Quinoa seeds are sown in mid-November.
"The private company is buying quinoa from me. Had there been an available market, I would have grown this crop on more land," he said.
Abdus Samad, a farmer from the same village, said he too would cultivate Quinoa if they could market it.
"However, I will cultivate Quinoa on 8-10 decimals of land for my family next year," he said.
Iqbal Hassan, an agronomist for a private company, said they were working to build a supply chain of Quinoa. The company is currently producing Quinoa seeds in collaboration with a farmer. There is a high demand for Quinoa in this country.
"There are a lot of Quinoa consumers in the big cities of the country, including Dhaka," he added.
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