In Naogaon district, several kinds of early vegetables, including beans, bottle gourd, pointed gourd, aubergine and yardlong beans, have been grown this year. Thanks to good weather, yields have also been higher. Farmers say they turned to early vegetables to make up for last year's losses from Covid.

Amjad Hossain, a farmer from Kirtipur in Naogaon, told Banglanews that pest attacks were lower than the previous year and there was no rain, so vegetable yields in the fields were higher this year. Among the vegetables grown, beans are fetching the best price. Early on, beans sold for up to Tk 160 a kg, and pointed gourd for Tk 80 to 90.

Farmer Fatema Akter said vegetables did not fetch a fair price the year before because of Covid and floods. With transport not running in particular, vegetables could not be sold at market, and farmers suffered heavy losses. Vegetable farming has grown this year, but pesticide prices have also risen, and the government could take steps to bring them down if it wished. She said she is making a profit selling vegetables.

Shamsul Wadud, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said vegetables have been grown on a total of 1,580 hectares in the district this year, 435 hectares of it with three varieties of beans. The beans are being sold in Naogaon and in other districts. He said field staff are advising farmers to ensure good vegetable yields.

Source: Banglanews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.