Farmers in Sunamganj Sadar and Bishwambharpur upazilas are spending busy days growing winter vegetables. With market demand in mind and hoping for a little more profit, farmers in the two upazilas are pinning their dreams on vegetables.

Farmers have already started growing red amaranth, bottle gourd, aubergine, beans, radish, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, cucumber and other vegetables. They hope to take these vegetables to market in three to four weeks.

With the weather favourable this year, winter vegetables will come off the fields within a few weeks, farmers say, and they are dreaming of big profits and a bumper harvest.

According to the district agriculture department, farmers in Sunamganj are growing all kinds of vegetables on 11,700 hectares this year.

Two upazilas known as Sunamganj's vegetable areas grow the most. Winter vegetables are grown mostly in the villages of Krishnanagar, Baghmara, Kunargaon, Nalua, Berigaon, Jharjharia and Mangalkata in the Surma and Jahangirnagar unions of Sunamganj Sadar upazila, and in Sulekabad, Palash, Jinarpur and Majaigaon in Bishwambharpur upazila.

Shah Alam, a farmer of Majairgaon village in Bishwambharpur upazila, told Jago News: "Every year I grow winter cucumber and tomato and can sell them at good prices in the market. This year I have planted cucumber and tomato on 8 acres. If the yield is good, I hope to profit more than last year."

Alaur Mia, a farmer in Bishwambharpur upazila, told Jago News he had grown bottle gourd leaves at a cost of Tk 5,000. The crop has done very well, and in a few days he expects a profit of Tk 15,000 to 20,000 from selling them.

Helal Mia, a farmer of Krishnanagar village in Sunamganj Sadar upazila, told Jago News that winter vegetables fetch good prices if they reach the market early in the winter. Because of market demand, he has grown bottle gourd, beans and aubergine this year and will be able to sell these early vegetables within the next two to three weeks.

Ali Hossain, a farmer of Baghmara village in Sunamganj Sadar upazila, told Jago News: "Every year I sell new vegetables in the market at the start of winter. This year growing aubergine and beans cost me about Tk 30,000. If the weather stays favourable and there is demand in the market, I hope to make a profit of over a lakh taka from these vegetables."

Faridul Hasan, deputy director of the Sunamganj district agriculture department, told Jago News there will be a bumper crop of winter vegetables if the weather stays favourable. If winter vegetables reach the market at the start of winter, farmers will also get good prices, he said.

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