Local farmers in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet have been growing a special bean variety, "Goalgadda", for decades. Because it is tasty, the bean is equally popular at home and abroad. After meeting local demand, the Goalgadda bean is exported to 13 countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada and others in Europe.

According to the Golapganj upazila agriculture office, Goalgadda beans have been grown on 555 hectares in the upazila this year. They are grown most in three unions: Lakshmanaband, Lakshmipasha and Fulbari. The agriculture office expects 85 tonnes of beans to be produced on this land this year.

About 450 families in the three unions depend on the Goalgadda bean, and most of them live for the whole year on the money from selling it.

Local vegetable growers said each family earns five to six lakh taka a season from growing the bean. They said Goalgadda seed does not yield well when planted anywhere other than these three unions, whose soil is suited to it.

Mukir Hossain Chowdhury, a vegetable exporter and former director of the Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Jago News that Golapganj's Goalgadda beans are exported to about 13 countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada and other European countries. The Goalgadda bean is a favourite vegetable among expatriates in the United Kingdom, he said.

Wherever one looks in the upazila's Lakshmanaband union, green Goalgadda bean fields can be seen. The beans are bought and sold on market days at the local Purkayasthabazar and Chowdhurybazar. Farmers also pick beans from the field and take them by pushcart or van to Hetimganj and Golapganj markets for sale. Some sell the beans to traders while they are still in the field. Traders often turn up at the markets with trucks from different parts of the country to buy beans. The beans are selling at Tk 45-50 a kg in various markets in Sylhet.

Vegetable trader Ruhul Ahmad said he buys beans here on every market day and sends them to Dhaka through an agency, from where they are exported abroad.

Md Sadik Mia, a farmer from Madakhapara village in Dhakadakshin union of Golapganj upazila, said he grew beans on 90 decimals this year at a total cost of more than a lakh taka. This time he expects to sell beans worth two and a half to three lakh taka.

Anwar Hossain, a farmer from Bidaitikar village in Dhakadakshin, said he grew beans on 180 decimals this year and will make a profit of three to four lakh taka after costs. This money has to cover his family's expenses for the whole year, he said.

A bean grower named Abu Saleh said they grow beans at their own expense every year and get no government help. With government support, they could expand bean cultivation further.

Upazila agriculture officer Md Mashreful Alam told Jago News that Goalgadda beans were grown on 555 hectares this year, and there are plans to raise this to 600 hectares next year. Production of 85 tonnes is expected this year.

"We always keep advising farmers," he added. "We will try to see that they get government support to raise bean yields."

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