Farmers in the southwest are profiting greatly from early winter vegetables, earning an average of 20,000 to 60,000 taka per bigha. The dominance of middlemen has also declined.
Winter vegetables before winter
Growing early vegetables has become part of the crop calendar, to bring consumers a taste of winter a few days early, and commercial farming is booming as a result.
Chuadanga farmer Sanowar said farmers spent 20,000 to 22,000 taka per bigha this time and are getting very good prices for cabbage, selling it at 80,000 taka per bigha.
Markets transformed
The look of rural markets has changed suddenly, and the abundance of vegetables shows farmers now lean towards early crops.
Markets are no longer held captive by wholesalers or traders, whose chance to take a big share of the profit is shrinking. Farmers now know road costs and Dhaka market prices as well as wholesalers do.
Different crops, different gains
Profit varies from farmer to farmer: some count it in cabbage, some in coriander leaves and some in bottle gourd. Farmers hope their skill at reading timing and market trends will keep growing.
Source: Shykh Seraj, Hridoye Mati O Manush. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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