With soil and weather in their favour, cultivation of capsicum, a foreign vegetable, is growing day by day on the chars of Bhola. Farmers are turning to it because it pays well for little cost and effort. The area under the crop has doubled from last year, and it has changed the fortunes of many growers. Growers believe cultivation could take off dramatically with government help, while the agriculture department says growers are succeeding thanks to proper field-level advice and supervision.

Farmers say that about six or seven years ago, a man named Monir Pathan of Kachia union grew capsicum experimentally on 10 decimals at Majher Char in Bhola Sadar. He succeeded, and the next year began growing on a larger scale, again with good profit. Other growers followed his example. Today 150–200 growers cultivate capsicum on Majher Char in Bhola. With favourable weather this year too, the harvest has been large and prices in the wholesale market are good.

Md Hannan, a capsicum grower from Kachia Majher Char in Bhola Sadar, said he had grown capsicum on about 2 acres at a cost of about Tk 3 lakh. So far he has sold about Tk 5 lakh worth and can sell another Tk 5 lakh from the crop still in the field.

Grower Hashem Kerani said he heard that this foreign vegetable made a lot of profit, so this year he grew it on 3 acres. Labour, seed, fertiliser, pesticide and land costs came to Tk 3 lakh in all. He has sold Tk 7 lakh worth of the vegetable and can sell another Tk 7 lakh.

Grower Md Siddique said 25–30 people used to grow it on this char in Bhola, and now there are 150–200. The number grows every day because it is a profitable crop.

Hashem Bepari said demand in the wholesale market is high. It sells for Tk 150–200 a kg and is sent to Dhaka and other districts.

The district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said the target this year was 14 hectares of capsicum, and twice that was cultivated: 15 hectares in Bhola Sadar upazila and 15 hectares in Daulatkhan upazila.

Binoy Krishna Debnath, deputy director of the DAE in Bhola, said there had been no pest attack in the fields this year, so growers will profit much more than before. Many have changed their fortunes by growing capsicum, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.