A shortage of fertiliser and higher pesticide and fuel prices have pushed up production costs, yet Meherpur growers are working long hours to plant aman paddy and winter vegetables.
FruitsMd. Mithu of Gobhipur in Meherpur planted 230 passion fruit seedlings from Jhenaidah on bamboo trellises on a bigha and a half; he has spent about Tk 2 lakh and hopes to sell Tk 8-10 lakh of fruit this season.
CropsMeherpur's aman and winter vegetables need about 3,656 tonnes of DAP and TSP, but September's allocation was 2,197 tonnes, and farmers queue at dealers without getting what they need.
With a bigha costing Tk 20,000-26,000 to grow and yielding about 10 maunds at roughly Tk 3,000 a maund, the fibre alone leaves little profit; traders now pay Tk 10,000-15,000 for the same field's sticks, which have moved beyond cooking fuel to fencing, cattle sheds and hawking in town.
Meherpur's century-old Baradi goat market is bustling ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, with buyers most interested in medium-sized goats.
The traditional Bamondi-Nishipur cattle market in Meherpur is busy ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, but with more sellers than buyers, farmers facing high feed costs say offers are too low.
A farmer named Ruhul Amin died of a snakebite in Meherpur after a group of traditional healers treated him and declared him cured.
A Gangni farmer has turned 18 katha of land into a plot of 26 native and seasonal vegetables, cutting his risk and raising his income.
Farmers in Meherpur protested outside the upazila agriculture office on 7 December, accusing a BADC dealer of withholding fertiliser for three months and selling it on the black market.
RAB has detained a man named Abdul Aziz with three tokay geckos at Sarishadanga in Chuadanga.
EnvironmentShamim Hossain, 28, was bitten by a snake in his sleep in Gangni, Meherpur, on the night of 4 November 2025, was taken first to a local ojha and died in the upazila health complex on the morning of 5 November. The doctor said he had arrived too late.
Farmers in Meherpur are struggling with stem borer, brown planthopper and foot rot in their aman paddy, and say pesticides and official advice are falling short.
In Gangni, Meherpur, Asaduzzaman has crossed Garole sheep with desert Dumba, producing fast-growing lambs that reach 30 to 40 kg in three months.
