Litchi yields have failed in Madhukhali, Faridpur, this season. The weather was unfavourable and the crop was poor, mainly because of lack of rain and a prolonged heatwave.

Growers said the flowers and buds dropped, so the expected fruit did not set and the litchis are small. Litchi orchard owners and seasonal traders in Faridpur face heavy losses. There are fears that an orchard that sold Tk 7 lakh worth of litchis last year may not sell even Tk 3 lakh worth this year.

Jahapur village in the upazila is famous for litchis and is known to many as the 'litchi village'. Almost everyone in Jahapur has a litchi orchard. Villagers have given up other crops for litchi, and there is not a single house without litchi trees; every home and plot has them. Litchi farming has grown sharply in the union over the past 25 years.

Growers said litchi farming is becoming more popular every year as farmers hope for high profits at low cost. Litchis are grown widely in Jahapur, Dostordia, Tengrakandi, Monohordia, Char Monohordia, Kharakandi and Mirzakandi villages of Jahapur union. Besides the Mozaffari variety, Guti, Bombai and China-3 are the most common. But this year there has been a severe yield failure.

According to the upazila agriculture office, litchis have been grown on 95 hectares in about a hundred orchards in Madhukhali this year, 40 hectares of them in Jahapur alone. The average yield this season is 4.1 tonnes per hectare. In good weather, 5-7 mature litchi trees on 10 decimals of land can produce about Tk 25,000-30,000 worth of litchis.

Shawon, a seasonal worker from Natore, told Jagonews24 that he picks about 2,000 litchis a day from 15-20 trees, for a daily wage of Tk 600 to Tk 700.

Local orchard owner Akkas Ali told Jagonews24: "I have been in litchi farming for several years. This year I bought an orchard for Tk 1 lakh 72 thousand. Litchi farming is risky, and this year the yield was not satisfactory because of low rainfall. Each litchi costs 70-80 paisa to buy, but with pesticide, labour, transport and other costs, the average cost per litchi comes to about Tk 2."

Jahapur grower Delowar Hossain told Jagonews24: "I have about 140 litchi trees on five bighas. I spent about Tk 1 lakh on the orchard over the year. Right now the wholesale price of 100 good-quality litchis is Tk 200 to Tk 220, and they sell retail for Tk 300 to Tk 350. Last year I sold Tk 7.5 lakh worth of litchis from this orchard. This year I will be able to sell Tk 3 lakh worth at most."

Another grower, Abdur Razzak Moulik, told Jagonews24: "Litchi farming is profitable. It needs more care, but once an orchard is set up it gives good yields for several years. Many farmers are now giving up rice and other crops for litchi. But this year the yield has not been as good as in other years."

Jahapur union parishad chairman Samsul Islam Bachchu told Jagonews24 that severe drought and poor weather had hurt the yield this year while costs had risen, and litchi growers were not happy.

Madhukhali upazila agriculture officer Mahbub Elahi said Jahapur's litchis are supplied to Faridpur as well as Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi and other markets. Full-scale picking begins in mid-May and continues until the first week of June. This year lack of rain held back the trees' normal growth and yields were quite low, but the shortfall can be overcome with technology-based care and irrigation, he said.

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