Maize grains could be one of Bangladesh’s export items

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Maize after having been incepted during 1970 found in Bangladesh crawled ahead slowly but surely to grab lands showing a good noticeable trend since 2003. Due to augmenting poultry market, demand of its grains can be on a hike making its cultivation profitable a lot more than rice. Farmers had taken this profit-advantage accommodating extra lands. Current production trend hints at its export potentiality as one of the feed and food commodities of Bangladesh.

Being truly a C4 crop, maize offers two to three folds yield productivity in comparison to these of C3 crops like rice and wheat. It really is grown in a varied climate. Its grains are staying applied as poultry, livestock and fish feeds creating a ready market to market by the farmers. The green straw is suitable to prepare storable and palatable silage to meet up the crisis amount of livestock feeds.

Due to such production rewards, farmers have adopted this kind of crop widely during the last decade which has currently occupied some lands of boro, wheat, pulses and oilseeds. This crop is also staying grown in Kharif-1 season (summer) in lands which usually would have remained fallow. Such occupation is normally driven by the soaring demand of feed mills for maize grains.

Maize’s expansion was extra conspicuous between 1990 and 2000. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Figures, Bangladesh reaped 117 thousand a great deal of maize grains from 29 thousand hectares of territory in the growing time of year of 2002-03 which climbed to 3288 thousand tons from 401 thousand hectares in 2017-18.

Due to an elaborated study, several open pollinated varieties and hybrids of maize have already been released simply by the Bangladesh Agricultural Study Institute (BARI). Importing seeds of huge yielding exotic hybrids along with uninterrupted way to obtain production inputs likewise contributed to the expansion of this crop.

Before 2016-17, wheat was the second highest grain making crop after rice. Its acreage rose slowly but surely showing the highest spot of 882 thousand hectares in 1998-99. The crop’s region fell to 331 thousand hectares during 2018-19. Such a drop-down primarily related to the increased temperatures caused by climate change. Further, extreme attack by the blast disease during or after 2014-15 posed the crop of lesser curiosity to farmers.

On the other hand, although maize was initiated substantially later than wheat in 1971, because of steady ascent of the poultry industry, the crop gained a faster drive. As per 2018-19 BBS info, its place has been 35% a lot more than that of the wheat (the number below). And, as such maize experienced a gigantic leap departing the wheat behind.

Not merely the yield productivity, but as well a shorter life span has produced this crop unique to be very easily fitted in the existing cropping systems. Maize has even more disease resistant capability in comparison to rice and wheat. Its seeds contain much more protein and lower glycemic index and therefore are superior to rice possibly for the diabetic patients.

In Bangladesh, farmers grow maize mainly in the cropping patterns of T. aman-maize-mung bean, T. aman-maize-aus rice, T.aman-potato-maize and T.aman-Rabi crops-maize. In Rabi time, maize competes with boro, wheat and other Rabi crops; while in Kharif-1, with aus and jute. Nevertheless, Kharif maize production is usually constrained with the repeated storms that cause damage and lodging of the crops reducing the yield.

Since mid 2000s, maize’s growth fee in Kharif-1 (summer time) was greater than that of Rabi (winter). The info of 2013 showed 18% of maize lands under summer contributing only 16% to its total production which may be attributed to lesser availability of sunlight due to cloud covers. Planting in wider rows of 60 centimeter can help you grow many short duration crops as intercrops in the same plot.

Maize production is principally concentrated found in the central and northern elements of Bangladesh, even now leaving its expansion alternatives in other parts. Specifically in the south, great amount of terrain remains fallow following the harvest of T. aman which might be considered under maize’s cultivation. However, its production for the reason that area may be constrained by the lack of irrigation facility which must be solved before mass launch in that area.

According to BBS info, during 2002-03 growing season, maize spot was around 29 thousand hectares against 707 thousand of wheat. Thereafter, wheat place slowly but surely dropped down, while that of the maize rose. In 2016-17, maize area was 390 thousand hectares against that of wheat of 416 thousand hectares. During 2017-18 developing time, maize’s acreage was 401 thousand hectares against that of wheat (351,000 hectares).

Statistics about the acreage and development of maize is unavailable yet from BBS after 2017-18. USDA, IndexMundi and Knoeema estimated the area of 331 and 520 thousand hectares for 2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively assuming the respective productions of 3500 and 4500 thousand tons. The Department of Agricultural Extension projected the acreage and development to get nearing or above 550 thousand hectares generating over 5100 thousand tones for 2020-21.

According to the Feed Industries Association of Bangladesh (FIAB), the annul require of feed in the country is 6-8 million tones needing to import 1-3 tons to cater the burgeoning require. As its acreage provides been expanding rapidly, it might be predicted that in near future, Bangladesh will come to be self-adequate in this crop with a good surplus. This paves ways to develop export oriented feed industries in Bangladesh.

The presently produced maize grains are being used exclusively as feeds which are from yellow grained kinds. But worldwide, white colored grains are widely used for human intake in lots of of the African, Central American and South American countries. Despite their house production, some of these countries need to import white colored maize grains from the USA or somewhere else. Bangladesh could have this benefits in future.
Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com

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