Sitakunda in Chattogram has had a bumper cucumber crop this year, with plenty of cucumbers in every field. Farmers are harvesting and supplying them to Dhaka, Chattogram and other parts of the country. Vegetable prices are also good this year, so at least 720 farmers are doing well supplying cucumbers from hill and flat-land fields.

According to the upazila agriculture office, cucumber has been grown on 40 hectares of hill and flat land in Sitakunda this year, and yields have been good. Farmers are supplying the cucumbers through wholesalers to Dhaka, Chattogram and elsewhere, and with vegetable prices high this year, they are making a good profit.

Across the upazila, farmers are pleased with how well the cucumber crop has done. Md Shiblu, a farmer of Khadempara village in Bhatiari union, said he grows plenty of cucumber along with other vegetables every year in this season. This season he has grown cucumber on 80 decimals of hill land, and the yield has been very good.

"Seed, fertiliser, bamboo, labour and other costs came to Tk 1 lakh 20 thousand. This time I am getting a good price for vegetables. At first I sold cucumber at Tk 60-65 a kg wholesale. So far I have sold Tk 1 lakh 50 thousand worth, and I will be able to sell more than a lakh taka's worth more from the land," Md Shiblu said.

Md Salam, a grower on the Baraiyadhala hills, also said he is profiting from cucumber. "Cucumber is a favourite vegetable of almost everyone, so demand is good. This time things are a bit different: demand is high and prices are at their peak. At the start it was Tk 50-60 a kg even wholesale. Now it sells at Tk 40-45 wholesale. We are making a good profit," he said.

"I have grown cucumber on 60 decimals of hill land and 40 decimals of flat land. The total cost was about Tk 1.5 lakh. In the month since harvesting began, I have sold about Tk 2 lakh worth. If prices stay like this, I could sell more than Tk 1.5 lakh worth more. Wholesale traders take cucumber and other vegetables from here to Dhaka, Chattogram and other places," he said.

Md Alauddin, a grower from Lalanagar village in Baraiyadhala union, said: "We often take advice from agriculture officers when farming. Following their advice, we get a good profit even while dealing with pests. Pesticide use on the land has fallen compared with before. Now we use pheromone traps and various natural methods to kill insects, so the vegetables are healthier."

Sitakunda upazila agriculture officer, agriculturist Md Habibullah, said: "This season a total of 720 farmers have grown cucumber on 40 hectares, on both hill and flat land, and yields have been good. Besides being sold in local markets, the cucumbers are meeting demand in Dhaka, Chattogram and other areas. The good thing is that farmers are not using pesticides as before; they are using pheromone traps against insects, so the vegetables are healthier. Cucumber farming will increase further in future."

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