Rabiul Alam is a farmer at Kumbharpara in Fatikchhari. He used to grow aman in this season, which covered his costs but brought no profit. For three years he has grown sugarcane instead of aman on his own 80 decimals of land, and he now makes more than Tk 30,000 profit in a single season after costs.

With profits good, many other farmers like Rabiul are turning to sugarcane. According to the upazila agriculture office, there are now more than 100 sugarcane growers in the upazila, compared with 20 to 30 five years ago.

Farmers said aman is grown every year at Kumbharpara beel in the upazila. After several years of poor paddy prices, they began to think of alternative crops, and a few seasons ago they started planting sugarcane seedlings. With that success, cane fields are now spreading in villages including Rosangiri, Samitirhat, Suabil, Abdullahpur, Lelang and Daulatpur.

The upazila agriculture office said sugarcane has been grown on 32 hectares in the upazila this season, with another 20 hectares grown outside that count. Two years ago the figure was 18 hectares. Farmers are pleased that cultivation is rising year by year.

At midday on Tuesday, Kumbharpara beel was covered with sugarcane as far as the eye could see. Farmers were keeping watch at the edges of their fields to prevent theft, some were busy cutting cane and tying it into bundles, and wholesalers were buying right in the fields.

Muhammad Abdul Halim, a farmer of Kumbharpara village, said: "Sugarcane has been grown all around. Many are selling from the field. I have also grown it on 16 decimals. Because the yield is good, we are getting high prices."

Farmer Muhammad Rabiul Alam said: "The cane yield is good this time. I grew it on 80 decimals. Aman cost Tk 50,000, and cane costs the same. I have sold Tk 40,000 worth of cane so far, and selling all the cane in the field will bring at least another Tk 40,000. I made a similar profit last year."

Farmers said a kani (40 decimals) costs Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000 on average and holds about 1,000 canes. Each cane currently sells for Tk 40 to Tk 80. Farmers pile ripe cane beside their fields, and traders buy it on the spot according to size.

Muhammad Shahjahan, a trader from Bibirhat who came to buy, said each cane pulled from the field is priced by estimate. Canes of that size are then sorted and taken to market by vehicle, and large ones are selling for Tk 60 to Tk 100 each.

Upazila agriculture officer Liton Debnath told Prothom Alo that farmers in the upazila have profited from sugarcane over the past few years and cultivation is steadily increasing. He said skill, care and the correct use of fertiliser and pesticide give a good cane yield.

Source: Prothom Alo. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.