Cultivation of spices in 10 districts of the country's southern region is gaining popularity as it has become a moneyspinner for the farmers.

Farmers have brought vast tracts of land under spices cultivation in the region as the production cost is lower this season due to low price of seeds, fertiliser, insecticide and other agri-inputs.

On the other hand, the market prices of the produces are higher than other years.

It was found in different areas of Magura, Jessore, Narail, Kushtia, Meherpur, Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat districts that the farmers cultivated various high-yielding varieties of spices such as onion, chilli, coriander, garlic, turmeric and cumin in their fields.

Magura Regional Spices Research Centre (RSRC) invented new hybrid species of spices including Bari onion-2, Bari onion-3, Bari garlic-1, Bari turmeric-3, Bari fenugreek- 1 and Bari cumin-1.

Farmers have cultivated these newly invented species in Hajipur, Alaipur, Atharakhada, Chandanpratap, Baskutha, Parananduali, Barai, Alokdia, Ramnagar, Rautda, Aduakandi, Chhobinagar, Gayespur, Chandikhali and Nakol villages of Magura and in many villages in other

districts of the region.

Subrata Kumar Chakrabarty, official of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) of Magura said farmers cultivated onion on 5,210 hectares of land while garlic on 478 hectares, coriander on 1,463 hectares, chilli on 1,615 hectares, turmeric on 530 hectares and ginger on 5 hectares of land in the current session in the district.

RSRC official Maniruzzaman said the research center has given training to 200 agriculture officials, 100 volunteerrepresentatives and 700 farmers on modern methods of spices cultivation.

Some spices cultivators said they are more interested in high-yielding spices cultivation as the prices of those varieties are much higher.