Life has become hard in the searing heat of the Bengali month of Jaishtha. To find a little relief and fight dehydration, people in the Sharsha and Benapole area of Jashore are buying more tender palm kernels (tal shaans). A poor crop has pushed prices up somewhat, but buyers are not holding back from this nutritious and tasty fruit. While it quenches people's thirst, the seasonal trade is also giving nearly a hundred local families a living.

Sellers are selling palm kernels at the corners of haats and bazaars across the 11 unions and one municipality of Sharsha-Benapole, and there is no shortage of mobile sellers on vans either. At present each kernel sells for Tk 5 to 7.

Seasonal trader Abdus Sattar said: "I bought the palms from three trees for Tk 4,000. I paid two workers Tk 1,000 to bring the fruit down, and transport cost Tk 200. By the roadside in Benapole bazaar each palm fruit sells for Tk 15 to 25. Selling palm kernels for one to one and a half months brings in about Tk 20,000 to 30,000."

Traders Salauddin and Ashikur of Navaran and Bagachra said the low yield this season has left palm kernels in short supply, so they have to be sold at high prices, Tk 15 to 25 each. They earn Tk 400 to 500 a day from it.

Sharsha Upazila Agriculture Officer Dipak Kumar Saha said: "Because the palm yield is low this season, the kernels sellers bring in are gone in moments. In summer, a palm-leaf fan gives village people a cool breeze, and palm trees protect homes from storms and rain and keep nature in balance. For want of palm trees, weaver bird nests are no longer seen. Without care and upkeep, palm trees are now almost extinct in this area. As a result, traditional palm juice, palm gur and palm patali are also on the way to disappearing."

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