Farmers in Dinajpur are busy with early winter vegetables. Md Afzal Hossain, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in the district, told BSS the target this season is 27,350 hectares of vegetables across 13 upazilas, of which 7,250 hectares are early varieties; potatoes are targeted on 36,250 hectares.
Additional deputy director (crops) Md Anisuzzaman said winter vegetables normally reach market from November to January, when heavy supply denies farmers fair prices, while from the start of Kartik at the end of the monsoon both prices and demand are high. That is why growers prepared high land and began planting from mid-September, and some early vegetables are already selling well.
Rafiqul Islam, 42, of Karnai village in Sadar has divided 60 decimals into three plots of early cauliflower, cabbage, brinjal, tomato and radish. Wary of untimely rain, he cut drains every three feet so water runs off, which has saved the crop, and expects to start selling in 10 to 15 days.
Sahid Mia, 38, of Aladipur in Phulbari has early cauliflower on 32 decimals; he has spent about Tk 21,000 so far and expects to spend Tk 25,000 by the time it reaches market. Last year the same plot earned him Tk 1.3 lakh; this year he has added beans and cucumber and expects to harvest the cauliflower in 8 to 10 days. Abdur Razzak, 48, of Ulipur said a group of farmers have profited from early vegetables for several years and modern methods have cut both their labour and costs.
Phulbari upazila agriculture officer Saif Abdullah Mostafin said early vegetables pay, so many growers are adopting the practice; the produce meets local demand and goes to other districts, and the agriculture department advises farmers regularly on cultivation and disease control.
Photo: Morning vegetables at Naga Bazar, Rajshahi, NagaBazarRajshahi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: BSS
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