The coastal district of Patuakhali is famous for watermelons. Because Bangladesh still lacks the proper technology to produce seed of watermelon varieties, seed is imported from China, Japan, Vietnam, India and Malaysia, costing crores of taka every year. Now, for the first time in Bangladesh, scientists at the Patuakhali Regional Agricultural Horticulture Research Centre have succeeded in producing watermelon seed.

According to the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), watermelon was grown on 21,682 hectares in the district in 2018, producing 10 lakh 84 thousand 100 tonnes.

According to the regional horticulture research centre, 100 grams of seed is needed for 50 decimals of land. The district needs 6,000 to 7,000 kg of seed, and importing it costs crores of taka, meaning Bangladesh's foreign earnings have to be sent abroad.

In 2016-17, Bangladesh produced 2 lakh 53 thousand 661 tonnes of watermelon on 29,338 acres. In the same period, Barishal division produced 62,378 tonnes on 12,487 acres.

Farmers Anich Mridha and Rafiq Mia of Char Kajal in Rangabali told Jagonews that in many villages and towns, good hybrid seed cannot be found even for money. As a result, they do not get a proper crop from the hybrid seed they sow. One of the main reasons is seed manipulation by dealers, and those who farm cannot tell adulterated seed apart.

Galachipa farmer Md Rafiq Mia told Jagonews that in the watermelon season they can sell at Tk 8 to 15, and outside the season at Tk 80 to 100. Watermelon is not grown from November to March, but if it were grown then, imports of foreign fruit would fall and so would the import bill.

Md Rezaul Karim, a scientist at the Patuakhali Regional Agricultural Horticulture Research Centre, told Jagonews: "Because watermelon seed is not produced in the country, a syndicate takes excess profit. Farmers have to buy seed at high prices, which raises their production costs. We have been working at the regional research centre since 2016 to release watermelon varieties, and we have now succeeded in producing seed for the first time. Of four varieties, seed of the yellow and red varieties has been developed."

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