Green chilli was grown on 185 hectares of land in Joypurhat in the summer Kharif-1 season of the 2020-21 financial year.

The district office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said a target had been set to grow early summer chilli varieties on 200 hectares in the district in the 2020-21 Kharif-1 season, against which 185 hectares were planted.

A target has also been set to grow chilli on 320 hectares in the winter season, and the agriculture department said winter chilli had been planted on 280 hectares by Monday, with a production target of 576 tonnes. The early Kharif-1 chilli has joined the Rabi-season chilli already on the market, so prices are fairly normal, the department said.

At the Notunhat and Machhbazar markets in the district town and Botoli Bazar in Khetlal upazila, green chilli was selling wholesale at Tk 110 to 120 a kg depending on type, though in retail markets in the district town it was selling at Tk 130 to 140 a kg.

Agriculturist Bablu Kumar Sutradhar, acting deputy director of the district DAE office, said good weather had made for a good chilli crop this year. Prices have risen a little because few early chillies are reaching the market, but this will not last long, he said.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.