Young bottle gourds hang from bamboo trellises in the fields of Dubachhuri Miapara in Lakshmichap union, Nilphamari. Farmer Sudhir Chandra Roy has had a good harvest from four varieties grown on his own 24 decimals this year, but a sudden fall in local prices is denying him a fair profit.
He sowed the seed in September. Trellises, seed, irrigation and care cost him about Tk 6,000 to 7,000 in all. Instead of chemical fertiliser he used only compost he made himself, and with measured watering and care every plant has borne heavily.
For the past 15 days Sudhir has picked 50 to 100 gourds a day on average. He has already sold about Tk 12,000 worth and, if the weather holds, hopes to sell another Tk 15,000 to 20,000 worth by the end of the season.
The problem is price. With no transport or marketing link to Dhaka and other big markets, he has to sell each gourd to local wholesalers for just Tk 7 to 8, though in Dhaka one would easily fetch Tk 20 to 30. "We work so hard to grow vegetables, but most of the profit goes into the middlemen's pockets," he said. Farmers like him would benefit, he said, if they could sell directly to the big markets.
Despite the market slump he keeps growing a range of vegetables and encourages other farmers in the area to farm organically, without toxic chemicals.
Reported by Shahidul Islam for Dinajpur TV.
Photo: Bottle gourds (illustrative), Ton Rulkens / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source: Dinajpur TV
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