In the villages of Kurigram a bottle gourd (lau) now sells for just Tk 3 to 5, while the same gourd costs Tk 25 to 35 in town markets. At that price many farmers cannot cover transport and labour, let alone production costs, RTV Online reports.
Yields are good, but slightly mature gourds find no buyers and rot in the fields. Some farmers have stopped tending their crop, some have cut down their vines in frustration, and ripe gourds end up as cattle feed. Farmers say they have not seen such a price collapse in recent memory.
Riazul Islam of Khalisa Kaloa Dakkhinpara in Kathalbari union, Sadar upazila, spent about Tk 15,000 on 15 decimals of gourds and has so far earned only Tk 2,000. Afzal Hossain sold 36 gourds at the Zia Bazar wholesale market for Tk 110; he thinks low rainfall this year led more people to plant, so supply rose and prices fell.
Khandaker Enamul Haque of Kathalbari spent over Tk 1 lakh on 80 decimals and has earned only Tk 4,000. With wholesale prices at Tk 4-5, he sells by the roadside at Tk 5 apiece. His capital is gone, he has debts and cannot pay for his three children's schooling, he said. Babul Mia of Chinai union in Rajarhat sold gourds at Tk 30-40 each from his field last year; hoping for the same, he planted 30 decimals this year and now cannot find buyers.
Farmers say they had to rent land at about Tk 40,000 an acre, and seed, fertiliser, pesticide and labour all cost more. Many sharecroppers are now in debt, and plans to fund early potatoes from gourd sales are in doubt for lack of money.
Mithu Chandra Adhikari, additional deputy director (crops) of the agricultural extension department in Kurigram, said gourd planting rose this year after good prices last year, so supply increased and prices fell; farmers are being advised to grow early vegetables to get better prices. The report is by RTV's Kurigram (South) correspondent.
Photo: Salim Khandoker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: RTV Online
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