Abdulpur and Bagdanga villages in Jashore Sadar upazila have become known as vegetable seedling villages. More than 150 farmers in the two villages produce about 12 crore seedlings of various vegetables in the eight months of each season and sell them for about Tk 15 crore. The seedlings have spread across the country.

Farmers from various districts come to the two villages to buy quality seedlings of cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and other vegetables. The agriculture department says it gives full support for quality seedling production, marketing and market linkage.

Abdulpur and Bagdanga are in Churamankati union of Jashore Sadar upazila, beside the Jashore-Chaugachha road. Seedling trading is now booming in the two villages. Every day from morning to evening, farmers from distant districts take away seedlings as they need, and the villages' reputation for quality has spread to remote areas.

Dr Sushanta Kumar Tarafdar, deputy director of the Jashore district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said the region's vegetable seedlings are known across the country. About 12 crore seedlings are produced in Abdulpur and Bagdanga in the eight-month season, and farmers sell them for about Tk 15 crore. The department gives full support with technology and market linkage.

On the Chaugachha road at Abdulpur, hundreds of polythene sheds covering vegetable seedbeds can be seen on both sides. Farmers built them mainly to protect the seedlings from fog and bad weather. Good-quality cauliflower seedlings are currently selling at Tk 800 to Tk 1,500 per thousand, and cabbage seedlings at Tk 500 to Tk 1,100 depending on quality. Farmers are happy with the good prices.

The agriculture department and local farmers said more than 150 farmers in the two villages grow seedlings of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and other winter vegetables. About 12 crore seedlings are produced on 40 bighas in the two villages. Sowing begins in the first week of July, seedlings are ready for sale after about a month and a half, and sales continue until February. In the first phase, seedlings sell at Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,000 per thousand.

Prices then fall step by step. Farmers can sell 12 crore seedlings in all in four to five phases from each seedbed, so about Tk 15 crore worth of seedlings are traded here.

Arshad Ali Moral, the first seedling grower in Abdulpur, said he started producing vegetable seedlings about four decades ago. As it was profitable, others followed him. Now many produce good seedlings, and because good-quality seedlings are available here, growers and wholesalers come from far away to buy them.

Rafiqul Islam, a farmer in Abdulpur, has grown cabbage and cauliflower seedlings on one and a half bighas. He said producing seedlings on this land costs Tk 6-7 lakh over six months and yields about 15 lakh seedlings, with a market value of Tk 15 to 16 lakh.

He added that besides various upazilas of Jashore, farmers and seedling wholesalers come from Jhenaidah, Narail, Chuadanga, Magura and Satkhira to take their seedlings. Their reputation and market are growing day by day.

Nazrul Islam, a wholesaler who came from Maheshpur in Jhenaidah, said many growers produce seedlings here, so buyers can inspect and choose quality seedlings of various kinds. Seedlings from this area also yield well, so the risk of crop failure is lower.

Highlighting the potential of Jashore's seedling villages, DAE deputy director Dr Sushanta Kumar Tarafdar said the department pays special attention to seedling production and marketing in the area, and gives farmers technology and technical support all the time. As a result, farmers and wholesalers from different areas come here to buy seedlings.

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