Bean farmers in Mirsarai upazila, known as the vegetable store of north Chattogram, are counting the hours to a good harvest. They are somewhat anxious too, as fog is causing the bean flowers to drop. Several farmers said the beans can be taken to market within the next month or month and a half.

The upazila agriculture office said beans have been grown on about 650 hectares in the upazila's two municipalities and 16 unions this season. Within Chattogram, Mirsarai is famous for beans second only to Sitakunda upazila, and supplies beans across the country. Farmers are drawn to the crop because it costs little and pays well. The most beans are grown in Wahedpur union.

Farmers are growing beans on land that lies fallow all year and is unfit for other crops. On land that holds one to two feet of water in the monsoon, soil is dug from the side to build mounds in rows, and beans are grown on them. The rows are 4.5 to 6 feet apart, and each mound gets its own stake. Besides farmland, beans have been grown in large quantities on hills, along both sides of village roads, on field ridges, on pond banks, in homestead yards and along both sides of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.

Abul Kashem of Wahedpur union said: "I have grown beans on about 50 decimals of land. They have flowered well, though some flowers have dropped because of the fog. I hope to sell beans in about a month. Last year I grew beans on 30 decimals and, after recovering my costs, made a profit of about Tk 32,000."

The main bean market sits at Daroga Hat in the upazila. Beans are also sold at Barotakia, Hadi Fakirhat, Mithachhara, Karerhat, Abutorab and other markets, from where wholesalers buy them and supply them to Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla, Sylhet and other districts.

Wahedpur Union Parishad Chairman Fazlul Kabir Firoz said: "Mirsarai is one of the leading places for bean farming. Many poor and unemployed young people have become self-reliant by growing beans. If there were a cold store here to preserve vegetables, farmers would benefit over a longer period."

Upazila Assistant Agriculture Officer Kazi Nurul Alam said: "This area is fertile for beans. Beans have been grown on 650 hectares this time. Bean cultivation keeps growing with our advice, and I hope the area will expand further next year."

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