Fields stretch to the horizon with hardly an inch left empty. Every plot is now planted with cucumber, brinjal, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, okra and other winter vegetables. This is the scene across the farmland of Jajira upazila in Shariatpur district, where good soil and favourable weather are bringing farmers success. Vegetables grown here meet the district's needs and are now sold in Dhaka and other districts.

According to the district agriculture office, local farmers began growing winter vegetables commercially in Jajira in 2008. Because the land suits winter vegetables, yields were good from the start. On the advice of agriculture officials, farmers have also increased safe vegetable production using mulching, bed planting, pheromone traps, yellow traps and bio-pesticides. Strong demand and good prices have pushed winter vegetable farming up year after year.

Jajira upazila now has 1,470 hectares under cucumber, bitter gourd, brinjal, okra, bottle gourd, bean and red amaranth, which are expected to produce 100,000 tonnes of vegetables this winter season.

Anwar Molla of Kazirhat has grown bitter gourd on two bighas this season and hopes to make a profit of at least Tk 1 lakh thanks to good market prices. "Last year I grew bitter gourd on one bigha. The yield was good, so this year I planted two bighas. It has cost me about Tk 1.5 lakh. I hope to sell around Tk 2.5 lakh worth of bitter gourd from this land," he said.

Nuru Kazi, a vegetable grower in Mulna, has planted black brinjal, dundul (sponge gourd), bitter gourd and bottle gourd on three bighas. "We used to grow other crops in our area. A few years ago we started growing winter vegetables. At first the prices were not very good, but the vegetable market is doing very well now. Wholesalers from Dhaka and other areas come and take our vegetables. We are making a good profit," he said.

Dulal Kazi of Gopalpur said: "Prices of pesticides, fertiliser and seed keep rising in the market, which is causing us some trouble. If the government subsidised these inputs, we could earn much more, and our vegetable farming would also expand."

Jajira upazila agriculture officer, agriculturist Md Jamal Hossain, told Jagonews: "Farmers in Jajira are benefiting overall from winter vegetable farming. Their prosperity is growing day by day. Since the Padma Bridge was built, communications in this region have changed and agriculture has developed widely. Through the agriculture department we are providing technical support, and we help round the clock with applying fertiliser and pesticides and controlling diseases."

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