Farmers in Sharsha and Benapole in Jashore are turning to sunflowers because the crop is quick, cheap to grow and highly profitable. Land that once lay fallow is now bright with sunflowers. Sunflower farming is showing farmers a new path to self-reliance while helping cut the dependence on imported edible oil and meet demand for nutritious oil. The fields are also drawing crowds of visitors every day to enjoy the sight.

Farmers grew sunflowers with incentives from the local agriculture office under the Department of Agricultural Extension's (DAE) oilseed production project. Last year farmers grew sunflowers on a small area on a trial basis and got a good yield and price, so this year sunflowers were planted in various fields in the upazila. With free seed and fertiliser from the local agriculture office, farmers sowed them on fallow and other land. With advice, guidance and proper care from field-level agriculture officials, the fields have filled with flowers as the plants grew. Sunflowers face the sun: in the morning they look east, and as the day goes on they turn with it.

Farmers say they grow paddy, jute, sugarcane, wheat, maize and mustard in the upazila, but because these earn little profit they have started growing sunflower as an oilseed. Sunflower can be grown on fallow and single-crop land, so interest is growing and farmers are benefiting. Demand for and supply of nutritious sunflower oil are rising, and they hope cultivation will grow.

They say the crop can be harvested cheaply and quickly, in 90 to 110 days. Sunflower grows well in loam and even in saline soil. A bigha yields 7 to 10 maunds, and each maund sells for Tk 3,000 to 4,000.

Sharsha farmer Abdul Mannan said the crop can be harvested 3 to 3.5 months after sowing. The seed was sown two months ago and the crop can be brought home by the second week of April. With favourable weather and a good crop this year, he expects a better yield than he had hoped for.

Farmers Altaf Hossain and Monir Hossain said sunflower gives a yield at the lowest cost and in a short time. Its oil is good and fetches a higher price. Last year, on the agriculture office's advice, they grew sunflowers on a small area on a trial basis and got an unexpectedly good yield and price.

Upazila agriculture officer Dipak Kumar Saha said sunflowers were grown under a DAE incentive programme to reduce the country's dependence on imported edible oil. This season sunflowers were grown on about 750 decimals in the upazila. Farmers were given free seed and fertiliser to encourage them, and the yield has been good, he said.

He added that oil from sunflower seed is comparatively expensive, and demand for the crop, mainly for edible oil, is rising day by day. If farmers are interested, the agriculture office will give all the help needed to expand sunflower farming in future.

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