Farmers in Ishwardi, Pabna, one of the country's leading vegetable-growing areas, have begun sowing early winter vegetables despite rising prices for seed, fertiliser and pesticide and higher wages for labourers. Alongside beans, radish, carrot and cauliflower, farmers here have started growing kohlrabi, okra, cabbage, aubergine, coriander leaves, bottle gourd and other vegetables.

According to the upazila agriculture office, winter vegetables are grown on 7,088 hectares in the upazila. Beans take the largest area, about 1,300 hectares. Cauliflower is grown on 900 hectares, radish on 945 hectares, carrot on 890 hectares, aubergine on 400 hectares, cabbage on 215 hectares and okra on 350 hectares. Kohlrabi, bottle gourd, coriander leaves, red amaranth, spinach and other vegetables have already been sown as winter crops.

Across the upazila, field after field is under vegetables, and farmers are busy planting seedlings, tending crops and irrigating.

Farmers said the higher prices of seed, fertiliser and pesticide have hit vegetable cultivation. With little rain, they are paying extra to irrigate fields with diesel-run shallow machines. Because of costlier inputs and higher wages, the cost of growing vegetables this year could double, they said, and it will be hard for farmers to make a profit after covering production costs.

Zia Mondal, a vegetable farmer in Bharaimari village of Salimpur union, told Jago News that growing carrots on one bigha cost Tk 60,000 last year and will cost Tk 90,000 this year. A kilogram of carrot seed cost Tk 16,500 last year and Tk 21,500 this year.

He said urea for carrots cost Tk 800 a 50-kg sack last year. This year the government price is Tk 1,100, but dealers are charging Tk 1,300. TSP, Tk 900 a sack last year, is selling at Tk 1,350, MoP at Tk 1,000 and DAP at Tk 1,200 a sack. Dealers are citing a shortage and forcing farmers to pay more than the fixed price, he said.

Irrigation is also costing extra this year because of the lack of rain. He doubts whether selling the carrots will cover the cost of growing them on one bigha.

Haji Habibur Rahman, a vegetable farmer in Naodapara village, said: "Every year I grow carrot, cauliflower, cabbage and other vegetables on 20 to 23 bighas. This year too I have grown early cauliflower, radish and carrot. The way fertiliser, seed and pesticide prices have risen, there is no chance of farmers making a profit. I am struggling to farm even my own land. Those who lease land at Tk 60,000 a bigha a year have no chance of any profit at all."

Abdus Sattar, a vegetable farmer in Bharaimari village, told Jago News he has grown an early carrot of the Turkish hybrid variety on seven and a half bighas. Growing one bigha is costing Tk 70,000, and for those farming leased land the cost is Tk 90,000. "Yet I don't think one bigha of carrots will sell for Tk 90,000," he said.

He said irrigation is costing more because of the lack of rain, on top of higher fertiliser, seed and pesticide prices. "Dealers have started playing hide-and-seek with fertiliser. They are not selling at the government price and are taking Tk 200 to 300 more a sack. There is no one to watch over the dealers' manipulation."

Ahsan Habib, general secretary of the Pabna district unit of the Bangladesh Krishak Samity, told Jago News that higher prices of fertiliser, pesticide, seed and fuel oil will raise the cost of producing vegetables. If market prices for vegetables do not rise, farmers will lose and lose interest in farming, he said, so the market price of farmers' produce must be fixed.

Md Hafizur Rahman, owner of Hafizur and Brothers, an approved fertiliser dealer in Dashuria union, told Jago News that fertiliser is sold there at the government price, and that upazila agricultural extension officers and sub-assistant agriculture officers always supervise fertiliser sales. Asked about allegations of overcharging, he said they were not true.

Upazila agriculture officer Mita Sarkar told Jago News that the agriculture office is always monitoring dealers' sales, and sub-assistant officers keep constant track of every dealer. "We are alert so that there are no irregularities anywhere. To stop irregularities in fertiliser, everyone has to be aware. Some dishonest traders will try to break the rules for profit; they must be resisted together, and farmers must be aware. If anyone sells fertiliser above the government price, the agriculture office must be told at once," she said.

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