Boro cultivation on amid cold weather

Boro cultivation in going on in full swing in all the upazilas of the district.

Several thousand farmers in all the six upazilas are now passing busy time planting seedlings of Boro paddy, ignoring the bone-chilling cold and foggy weather across the country.

Farmers said Boro cultivation started around six weeks ago and it will continue for further few weeks.

According to Patuakhali Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) around 50 percent of sowing have already been completed. 

Farmer Toaj Hossain of Raghunathpur village in Kaliganj upazila said the ongoing cold wave and dense fog is hampering their work as they cannot go to their fields in early morning.

Currently they are passing busy time in sowing the saplings, but fear that the extreme cold might affect their paddy plants, he said.

Many farmers said due to a favourable weather and good price of the paddy the area of Boro cultivation is increasing every year.

Farmer Mamun Hossain of Mandertala village in Kaliganj said last year he cultivated Boro on 4 bighas of land and got 100 maunds of paddy. He sold each maund of paddy at TK 1,300.

This season he brought 5 bighas under Boro cultivation as he got a good price of the paddy last year.

Jhenidah DAE Deputy Director Asgar Ali said they have a target to bring 78,855 hectares of land under Boro cultivation this year.

Of the land, 19,800 hectares are in Sadar upazila, 12,225 in Shailakupa, 9,855 in Harinakundo, 18,045 in Moheshpur, 5,555 in Kotchandpur and 13375 hectares in Kaliganj upazila.