A few years ago, landowners in Mirsarai upazila of Chattogram gave away straw free after the aman harvest. Times have changed, and straw has become valuable. With no grass in the fields in the dry season, demand for straw is now huge, and nobody is willing to give it away. As a result, farmers are busy selling straw after the harvest.
In the aman fields of East Khaiyachhara in the upazila, several farmers were seen selling straw straight from the field after threshing and bringing home their rice this season. Many farmers said they are now earning a lakh taka from straw.
Cattle farms are the buyers
Farmer Zaman Shah said: "I grew rice on two and a half kanis of land. Keeping a little straw for myself, I sold the rest for Tk 61,000. I have been selling for the past few years."
Arif, a farmer in the same field, said he grew rice on 5 kanis and sold the straw for Tk 1 lakh 5 thousand. Cattle farm owners buy the straw. In the rainy or dry season there is often a shortage of fresh grass for cattle, and then straw, rice bran and husk are what cattle rely on, so farmers stock up on cattle feed in this season.
Muktar Hossain, a farmer from East Durgapur village, said: "There used to be empty land around here, and there was no shortage of grass. Now land is not left fallow. There is a lack of grassland, so the price of straw has gone up. Cattle feed is expensive in the market. I have six cows, one of them a milking cow. I need 30-35 bundles of straw a day."
Officials see gains for farmers
Mirsarai upazila sub-assistant agriculture officer Kazi Nurul Alam said aman was grown on 17,220 hectares in the 16 unions of Mirsarai upazila this season, and harvesting is nearly over. Once there was little demand for straw and no price. Over time demand has risen sharply, and farmers are benefiting from straw prices. Even when rice does not pay off, farmers can make a profit on straw, he said.
Mirsarai upazila livestock officer Dr Zakirul Farid said the upazila has about 95,000 head of livestock. Each cow needs five to six bundles of straw a day as feed, and straw is especially beneficial for milking cows, which is why farmers value rice straw more than feed bought at the market. But aman cultivation fell this year because of the flood, so there is less straw, and everyone will have to buy it at higher prices, he said.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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