A vast golden carpet has spread across the riverside char areas of Nakla upazila in Sherpur as a bumper mustard harvest this season brings renewed hope and financial relief to local farmers. Farmers and agriculture officials in the upazila are expecting a high yield of mustard due to favourable weather conditions.

According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, mustard fields have transformed the riverside char lands and floodplains into a sea of yellow. This year, mustard has been cultivated on 6,000 hectares of land up from 5,730 hectares last year an increase of 270 hectares.

When contacted the Upazila Agricultural Extension Officer (AEO) Sagor Chandra Dey told this correspondent, “The mustard cultivation target for this year was 6,000 hectares and the target has been fully achieved so far.” He said October to mid-November is the suitable time for mustard cultivation, and the crop takes about 85 to 90 days to mature. Easy cultivation methods and lower production costs compared to other Rabi crops have increased the popularity of mustard farming among local farmers, AEO added.

Widow farmer Rashida Begum of Kaida village under Baneshwardi Union said that she cultivated mustard on one bigha of land as an intermediate crop. After harvesting mustard, she plans to transplant Boro paddy expecting returns double her investment.

The Upazila Agriculture Office stated that the expansion of mustard cultivation is due to government incentives, distribution of seeds and fertilizers; and increased farmer interest driven by higher profit potential. Mustard cultivation is high in the Chandrakona, Charashtadhar, Pathakata, Baneshwardi and Urfa unions of the upazila.

Upazila Agriculture Officer (UAO) Md Abdul Wahed Khan said that a total of 3,000 farmers in the upazila have received mustard seed and fertilizers support. He added that the most widely planted varieties are BARI Sarisha-14, Tori-7 and BINA-9. Officials believe that, barring any major natural disasters, Nakla will witness a bumper mustard harvest this year.