Farmers in Kishoreganj who grew sweet pumpkin are in trouble. Yields are lower, and the selling price does not cover the cost of cultivation. In local markets and wholesale, a kilogram of sweet pumpkin sells for Tk 6 to 10 depending on size. Traders say prices have been hit this year because supply is high.

Last year sweet pumpkin was grown on 1,005 hectares in the district; this year it was grown on 1,216 hectares, with a production target of 25,000 tonnes.

Most of the crop is in Tarail and Itna upazilas: 300 hectares in Tarail and 250 in Itna. But although more land was planted, yields have not been as expected. In this vast haor, about 60 percent of the crop is usually sold by this time each year, but not this year. Seeds for the summer crop are normally sown from October to December.

Farmers say sweet pumpkin has become a thorn in their throat. They used to sell at Tk 20 to 25 a kg each year; this year they are getting Tk 6 to 10. They have had to buy fertiliser, diesel and pesticide at higher prices, and labour costs have also risen, so recovering the cost of cultivation is now the big challenge. Yet in the district's retail markets, sweet pumpkin sells for Tk 25 to 30 a kg.

Every day, farmers bring sweet pumpkins by boat from different haor upazilas to the Shantipur market in Raituti union of Itna upazila. From there, wholesalers send them to Dhaka, Jashore, Khulna, Satkhira, Faridpur, Pabna, Chuadanga, Paikgachha, Benapole and other places. Where more than Tk 1 crore worth of sweet pumpkin used to be sold at the market every day, this year sales average Tk 50 to 60 lakh.

Aminul Islam, a farmer in Raituti union of Itna, said: "I have grown sweet pumpkin on 1,200 kathas of land in three haors in Itna-Mithamain and Austagram upazilas, at a cost of Tk 56 lakh. At the current price it is a big challenge to recover my costs. Fifteen workers work on the land, each paid Tk 15,000 a month. On top of the low yield, I am in trouble over the price."

Farmer Roich Mia said: "I have farmed 220 kathas. The plants have yielded little, and the price is low too. I spent Tk 14.5 lakh and am worried about recovering it. It is not only me; everyone in the area who grew sweet pumpkin is in the same position. I hoped to sell at Tk 20 to 25 a kg, and it hurts to sell at Tk 10."

Trader and farmer Jummon said: "I spent Tk 20 lakh on my fields. This year I cannot hope for even Tk 5 lakh. All farmers are in the same state. Pesticide has gone from Tk 200 to Tk 300, fertiliser from Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,600, and labourers' wages from Tk 500 to Tk 700 this year. Many farmers are frustrated with this crop. Other years we earned lakhs of taka; this time it is a loss."

Local wholesaler Umar Faruk said: "About 75 tonnes of sweet pumpkin are sold from my depot to different parts of the country every day. Last year the lowest price was Tk 20 a kg. This year the market opened at Tk 17 a kg, and now it is Tk 6 to 10. Prices have fallen because supply is high. Most of the pumpkins at this market come from Itna and Kaliajuri areas."

Sabuj Mia, a wholesaler from Jashore, said: "I buy sweet pumpkin here every day from the fields and the landing ghats, four trucks of 15 tonnes a day. The profit is not very high. I have been in this business for 20 years and sell in different districts. This year we are buying from farmers at a maximum of Tk 10 a kg and selling at Tk 14 to 15. The price we get in the market affects the farmer. If we cannot sell at a higher price, we cannot buy from farmers at a higher price either. Supply of sweet pumpkin is high this year."

Md Imrul Kayes, acting deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Kishoreganj, said: "Although sweet pumpkin was grown on 1,216 hectares in the district this year, farmers are not getting a fair price. Prices have fallen because production of other vegetables is also high. In other years various juice companies bought sweet pumpkin, but this year no company has appeared yet. If they buy, farmers will get a better price."

Meanwhile, even as farmers in the field are not getting a fair price, sweet pumpkin was selling for Tk 25 to 30 a kg in the markets of Kishoreganj town.

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