Straight after the early aman harvest, farmers in Saidpur, Nilphamari, are planting early potatoes and winter vegetables on higher ground. In Kamarpukur, Kashiram Belpukur, Khatamadhupur, Botlagari and Bangalipur unions, one farmer's planting is prompting the next.
Azmat Ali of Kashiram union said the local Seven variety can be lifted 50 to 60 days after planting, and if the weather holds he hopes early potatoes will fetch up to Tk 100 a kg. The rush has caused a labour shortage: Rahim Uddin of Botlagari said women farmhands now earn Tk 350 a day and men Tk 700.
Botlagari grows the most vegetables of the five unions, supplying Dhaka and other districts as well as local markets. Farmers are spraying, irrigating and tending cauliflower, cabbage, aubergine, radish, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, green chilli, yardlong beans, spinach, napa and red amaranth, and many traders buy straight from the field and truck the produce away.
Saidpur upazila agriculture officer Dhiman Bhushan said the department is working to make sure farmers get advice and fertiliser. Homaira Mondol, deputy director of the Nilphamari DAE, said land is being prepared and potatoes planted as soon as the early aman is cut, raising demand for labour and wages, and that Nilphamari plays a big part in early potato production.
The report was filed by a Banglanews24 district correspondent.
Photo: Hridoye Mati O Manush / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Banglanews24
Comments
(0)