With farmers disheartened by repeated losses on potatoes, a new vegetable, beetroot, is giving Joypurhat's growers new hope. Several marginal farmers in Karnapara, in the Uttar Hatshahar village area of Khetlal upazila, have made a profit of more than Tk 1 lakh a bigha growing beetroot for the first time this year.

They have succeeded with beetroot on about eight bighas of land, and their success story is now giving potato farmers fresh hope. Farmers from different areas are crowding the field to see the crop and learn how it is grown from start to finish.

Spending only Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000 a bigha, farmers are producing 90 to 100 maunds of this new vegetable, which they are selling for Tk 1 lakh to Tk 1.2 lakh. Seeing the high profit, interest in beetroot is growing.

Because beetroot is highly nutritious as well as profitable, the district agriculture department is encouraging farmers to grow it. This year beetroot has been grown on about 3 hectares in Joypurhat Sadar, Khetlal and Panchbibi upazilas. The cost of cultivation is only Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000 a bigha, and the yield is more than 90 to 100 maunds. It is grown sporadically in other upazilas, but more has been grown this year in the Karnapara field of Uttar Hatshahar in Khetlal.

Last year a demonstration plot in the Karnapara field, supervised by the agriculture department of the non-governmental organisation ESO, proved profitable. Encouraged, several farmers grew beetroot for the first time this year on about 8 bighas of adjoining land and have scored a big success. They have been selling beetroot since 80 days after planting. In the wholesale market a maund of beetroot is selling at Tk 1,200 to 1,400, so farmers are earning more than Tk 1 lakh from a bigha after costs.

Anil Chandra of Uttar Hatshahar village in Khetlal upazila said that last year Morshedul Islam, an assistant agriculture officer with the NGO Social Ahead Organisation (ESO), set up the first trial beetroot plot on 6 decimals of his land. It cost Tk 1,200, and 80 days later he sold Tk 18,000 worth of beetroot from it. Encouraged by that profit, he has grown beetroot on one bigha this year at a cost of only Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000. He has already sold 60 maunds at an average of Tk 1,200 a maund and still has about 40 to 50 maunds in the field, from which he expects a profit of more than Tk 1 lakh after costs.

Following Anil, Achan, Soren, Krishna and Arjun of the same village, Khagen of neighbouring Bhutpara village and Tozammel of Baghopara have also grown a bigha each with great success. Now, 80 days after planting, they are selling beetroot by the maund every day at Mahasthan Haat in Bogura.

Achan Chandra said: "After losing money on potatoes last year, I gave up potatoes and grew beetroot this time and made a good profit. Potatoes are losing even more this year. Yet by growing beetroot for only Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000, I have made a profit of Tk 1.1 lakh. It is also tasty and nutritious." He said farmers from different areas come to their fields every day to see the beetroot, and cultivation will increase a lot in future.

Agriculturist Salil Chowdhury, project manager at ESO, said the beetroot initiative was taken in this agriculturally fertile region to encourage farmers to break away from conventional practice and grow profitable crops, and farmers will reap the benefits in future.

AKM Sadikul Islam, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said he had heard that farmers are profiting from the new vegetable. He assured farmers of technical and all-round support for growing beetroot.

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