Cucumber farming is growing in Patuakhali district, and farmers are busy with the crop all year round. With good demand and prices, many are showing interest in it. This is improving farmers' socio-economic condition, and cucumbers grown in Patuakhali are also being supplied outside the district.

Agricultural entrepreneur Siraj Mir has leased 11 acres beside the Golkhali regional road in Galachipa upazila to grow cucumbers. Although his home is in Nilkamal union of Bhola district, his cucumber farming here this year has drawn a strong response from local farmers. With regular care and modern methods, the yield has been very good.

"Road links with our area are not good, so I am growing cucumbers here," Siraj Mir said. "Here you can pick cucumbers in the afternoon and send them to markets across the country the same night. I try most of all to catch the Dhaka market. Plenty of farm workers, both women and men, are available here, so the environment for farming is good."

Growing cucumbers on the 11 acres cost about Tk 23-24 lakh this year. If cucumbers sell at Tk 20 to 25 a kg, he could sell half a crore taka worth. If the price falls to Tk 12 to 13 a kg he would recover his capital, and below Tk 10 he would make a loss, the entrepreneur said.

It is not only Siraj Mir; many people in the area are becoming interested in cucumbers after seeing his farm, and many are turning to modern farming. Commercial cucumber farming has also created jobs in agriculture.

When farmers in Patuakhali and the rest of the south grow cucumbers at home, they use trellises. Siraj Mir, however, spreads the vines directly on the ground and harvests from there, which has made the method popular and profitable among farmers.

Md Nazrul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Patuakhali, said: "Alongside winter watermelon, farmers in the district are growing hybrid cucumber varieties Daisy, Moynamoti, Supreme Plus and Sumaiya. Last year cucumbers were grown on 8 hectares in the district, but this year they have been grown on 163 hectares. With a good yield, it is now possible to meet local demand and supply other districts." (The report's headline puts the area at 136 hectares.)

Cucumbers currently sell at Tk 40 to 50 a kg in Patuakhali's markets, while farmers are selling at Tk 20 to 25 a kg in the field. With the coming month of Ramadan in mind, many are planting new cucumber crops.

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