VegetablesMeherpur aims to grow winter vegetables on 5,250 hectares this season and early vegetables already cover about 2,000 hectares, though farmers face labour shortages, higher wages and fertiliser problems.
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.
FruitsAfter losses the year before, Meherpur's lychee growers and traders reported a strong harvest and satisfactory prices in May 2026, with the Department of Agricultural Extension putting the district's lychee area at about 730 hectares and expected output at about 6,800 tonnes.
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.
EnvironmentA farmer bitten by a snake in Motmura village, Gangni, on the night of 17 April 2026 was treated at home by ojhas who said he had recovered; he worsened at about 2am and died at Kushtia Medical College Hospital.
FruitsIn March 2026 Meherpur's mango orchards were in full bloom and growers expected a bumper crop, but they said a missing export market and the official picking timetable could cost them, while the district agriculture office said it was working on both.
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.
