Bangladesh : Rangpur region produces all-time record 14.25-lakh tonnes of maize
Farmers in Rangpur produced a record 14.25 lakh tonnes of maize this Rabi season, exceeding the target by 7.22%. Cultivated on 1.27 lakh hectares, the crop fetched Taka 800–850 per mound. Officials credit government support and farmer enthusiasm for the success. Experts urge more maize cultivation to boost food security, reduce rice dependence, and promote healthier diets.
RANGPUR, June 16, 2025 (BSS) – After repeatedly achieving bumper yields and
good prices in recent years, enthusiastic farmers produced a record 14,25,001
tonnes of maize in the Rangpur agricultural region in the just-concluded Rabi
season.
The 14,25,001 tonnes of maize produced from 1,27,251 hectares of land is
96,008 tonnes or 7.22 percent higher than the fixed production target of
13,28,993 tonnes this season, said officials from the Department of
Agricultural Extension (DAE).
Farmers in the mainland and riverine char areas are happy with a record maize
production and a relatively high market price of between Taka 800 and Taka
850 per mound.
Market sources said that maize prices in the local market will start rising soon after big traders buy most of the crop produced from farmers and store it in their warehouses across the region as it happens every year.Additional Director of the DAE’s Rangpur region Md Shafiqul Islam said that farmers are expanding into the less irrigation water consuming and highly profitable maize crop cultivation.
Hundreds of farmers and people living in riverine and char areas have improved their livelihoods, reduced poverty, changed their fortunes and achieved self-reliance through maize cultivation.Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of producing 13,28,993 tonnes of maize from 1,17,043 hectares of land for all five districts of the region.
“However, farmers had finally brought 1,27,251 hectares of land under its cultivation, exceeding the fixed farming target by 8.72 percent in the region,” Agriculturist Shafikul Islam said.
Market sources said farmers are currently selling newly harvested wet maize to local traders and wholesalers at rates between Taka 800 and Taka 850 per mound (every 40-kg).
Expressing satisfaction over the bountiful production of maize, Shafiqul Islam said that expanded maize cultivation is making many poor farmers in the region self-reliant.
The interim government provided special incentives to small and marginal farmers in the form of high-yielding varieties of maize seeds and fertilizers and the latest technology to expand maize cultivation and improve their standard of living.
Talking to BSS, char and riverside people Nur Islam, Kashem Uddin and Anwar Hossain of village Char Mohipur in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur said they cultivated maize on sandy char lands on the dried-up Teesta riverbed this season.
They completed the harvest of maize last month and got a bumper production. Independence Award 2018 Medal (food security) winner Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid stressed on enhancing farming of low-irrigation water consuming cereal crops like maize and wheat for ensuring food security amidst changing climate.
“Maize is rich in vitamin A and its multi-purpose uses, including the production of cholesterol-free corn oil from maize, can help heart patients in many ways by consuming the oil,” he said.
He called on people to change dietary habits and eat maize in different ways for a healthy lifestyle.
“Maize is very beneficial for human health if the flour is made by grinding 70 percent wheat and 30 percent maize together,” he said, citing various internationally recognized scientific studies and analyses.
Dr Mazid also said that the proper and diversified use of potatoes in a planned manner with maize and other crops can help reduce high pressure on rice and ensure nutritional needs and food security in adverse climates.
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Source : BSS News
