This season watermelon has been grown on 65 hectares in various parts of five unions of Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira, planted after the paddy crop. With supplies from other parts of the country dwindling in the market, these watermelons are in high demand and farmers are selling them at good prices.

The upazila agriculture office said watermelon has been grown on 65 hectares in five unions of Shyamnagar this season, producing 60–80 maunds per bigha. Watermelon cultivation in the upazila will increase further in future, it said.

Kenaram Mondal, a watermelon farmer in Atulia village, told Jagonews24: "This year the Dragon and Jambu Goalia varieties have been grown in the area, and we have got the yield we hoped for: 60–70 maunds per bigha. It cost Tk 20,000–25,000 per bigha, and watermelons worth Tk 40,000–50,000 are being sold from each bigha."

Suraj Mondal, a farmer from the same area, told Jagonews24: "The yield is good this time, but for lack of water I could not irrigate enough. If I could have irrigated on time, the yield would have been even better. If the agriculture department dug canals or installed deep tube wells, there would be no water problem."

Shamsur Rahman, sub-assistant agriculture officer for Atulia union, said: "We are doing our utmost to help farmers. If we get an allocation for watermelon farmers, we will arrange irrigation, seed, fertiliser and pesticide in future."

Shyamnagar upazila agriculture officer Md Nazmul Huda told Jagonews24: "Although somewhat small, the watermelons here are very tasty. They come to market after the Barishal watermelons are finished, so farmers can sell them at good prices. Because they yield well in adverse weather, farmers are becoming more interested in growing them day by day."

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