Sunflower farming trebles in Patuakhali

Farmers tending sunflowers on a vast field in Amtali upazila under Barguna district that sees a rapid rise in the cultivation of the oilseed plant. PHOTO: STAR

The area of sunflower cultivation in the district has tripled in last three years as local farmers are becoming more interested to cultivate it for getting edible oil at lower costs.
The oil seed was cultivated on about 45,000 acres of land this year while in last two years cultivated on about 35,000 and 15,000 acres in the district.
Abdul Bareq, 55, a farmer of Bodorpur village under Patuakhali Sadar upazila, said he started sunflower cultivation four years ago and the yield earns him some amount after meeting yearly family demand of edible oil.
"I cultivated sunflower on one acre of land this year and hope to get 15 to 20 maunds of seeds from there. I will get 240 to 300 litres oil from the seeds," he said.
Abdus Salam, chairman of Bodorpur UP, also cultivated sunflower on 1.50 acres of lands to meet his family requirement.
Abdul Awal, deputy assistant agriculture officer of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said local farmers are encouraged to cultivate sunflower as they can easily get edible oil at a low cost while price of other edible oil in local market is high.
Its cultivation process is very easy and comparatively cheaper. It has no need much of irrigation, have need a few quantity of fertiliser and insecticides that easy to farmer, he added.
"Around 500 grams of oil is produced from one kg of sunflower, which is more than other oil seeds," he added.
To encourage sunflower cultivation, IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) runs USAID-funded project Expansion of Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh (CSISA-BD) in Patuakhali and Barguna districts while oil and food company 'Amrita' has shown interest to collect sunflower seeds from local farmers instead of importing from India.
On Friday, they arranged a 'field day' at Gabua in Patuakhali to exchange views and experiences with farmers on sunflower oil processing and marketing.
CSISA-BD Chief of Party Tim Russell, IRRI-Barisal Hub Manager Deb Kumar, Professor Dr Iqbal of agronomy department of Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Abu Jafar, IRRI Patuakhali Agricultural Research and Development Officer Muhammad Shahedul Alam, Barisal Mission Head of Speed Trust Shamsul Islam Dipu, representatives from a few local oil mills, and around 50 farmers from different areas of Barisal division, attended the programme.
The CSISA project, meant for sunflower farming immediately after rice harvest from the same land, covers 40 hectares of land belonging to around 350 farmers of Barisal Division, said Dev Kumar.
Bangladesh produces 0.358 million tonnes of edible oil against the yearly demand of about 1.6 million tonnes, he added.
Cultivation of oil seeds is increasing in the region as local farmers are realising its importance, said AZM Momtazul Karim, deputy director of DAE in Patuakhali.