Low land beside homesteads and roads, waterlogged all year, produces hardly any crop. Farmers in several villages of Joypurhat have put this waterlogged land to use, growing water chestnut commercially through their own skill and initiative. The cost of growing the fruit is very low. It began on a small area, but because the profits are high, cultivation has spread.

A visit found that Joypurhat's farmers are profiting greatly from commercial water chestnut cultivation. Spending only Tk 3,000 to 4,000 a bigha, they are selling the fruit for about Tk 35,000-40,000. With costs so low, many have turned to the crop, and farmers believe cultivation would grow with government support.

Kashinat, a farmer from the Gatanshahar area of Sadar upazila, said: "Water chestnut is a very profitable crop. Growing it costs at most Tk 4,000 including pesticides and labour. If I do the work myself, it costs Tk 1,300 to 1,700. With a good yield, a bigha produces up to 40 maunds of fruit."

Samsul Alam of the same area said: "This fruit has no diseases or pests. Pesticide is needed only once or twice, so the cost is very low. This year the yield was more than 30-35 maunds a bigha, and I got Tk 400 to 1,100 a maund. That gave a profit of Tk 30,000-35,000 a bigha. I grew this fruit because water stands on the low land."

Rahela Parvin, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said: "About 10 bighas have been planted with water chestnut in the district this year, double last year's area. This nutritious fruit is in great demand in the market, so farmers are being advised to grow water chestnut rather than leave land fallow."

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