Farmers turn to sunflowers for a decent profit

Farmers across Bangladesh are more inclined than ever to cultivate sunflowers as an alternative to traditional paddy crops that do not offer much profit.

For example, farmers in Brahmanbaria and Kishoreganj have ramped up sunflower cultivation in a bid to secure the plant's highly nutritious edible oil.

Sunflower was being grown on just 156 bighas of land Brahmanbaria two years ago, but cultivation has expanded to about 972 bighas of land since then.

At the same time, the number of farmers growing sunflowers in Kishoreganj has reached 1,500 thanks to increased demand for healthy edible oils.

And considering the amount of crops planted this season, farmers expect higher yields.

As such, there is a good prospect of selling up to Tk four crore worth of sunflower oil in Brahmanbaria this year, shows data from the local Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

However, it should be mentioned that farmers are stepping up their efforts to cultivate the crop in order to prevent any potential edible oil crisis in the domestic market.

Bangladesh has to depend on the international market to meet 90 per cent of its edible oil demand as the country produces only a small quantity of oilseeds.

However, global edible oil prices spiked recently due to dry weather in Argentina and Brazil -- two major producing and exporting countries.

Meanwhile, Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has also raised concerns of a potential disruptions to the supply chain, leading to stockpiling at both home and abroad.

In all, 246 hectares of land have been brought under sunflower cultivation in nine upazilas of Brahmanbaria. Of them, farmers based in riverine and haor regions are dominating in terms of production.

But despite the farmers' zeal to grow sunflowers, they have been left anxious over the fact that they do not know where and how to store the crop.

Sheikh Khokon, a farmer from Ghulkhar village in Akhaura upazila, cultivated sunflowers on his 50-decimal land for the first time this year.

He had to spend between Tk 35,000 and Tk 40,000 on irrigation, various fertilizers and other inputs for the past four months.

Still though, he does not know how to preserve the crop even though the ripe flowers have already started to fall at this point in time.

Ali Ahmmad, the owner of a sunflower farm in Brahmanbaria's Kasba upazila, said he has not received any guidance or support on how to harvest sunflower plants and process their seeds till date.

"If we cannot harvest the crops in due time, we will have to face enormous losses," he added.

On the other hand, Robiul Haque Majumder, deputy director of the local DAE, said his organisation regularly provides free seeds, fertilisers and guidance for sunflower famers in a bid to ensure bumper harvests.

Asked if any training would be provided on how to harvest the seeds and collect oil from sunflowers, Majumder said that the DAE's block supervisor will reach out to growers to train them.

"So, they have nothing to worry about in this regard," he added.

The DAE deputy director went on to say that sunflower oil is far more nutritious than the common soybean oil currently found in the market as it lacks harmful cholesterol which is detrimental to health.

"For this reason, we advise farmers to cultivate the crop. If they get good profits this time, then cultivation will increase a lot in the future," Majumder said.

Besides, sunflower cultivation is less costly than other crops as it requires less fertiliser, according to Mohammed Solaiman Talukder, deputy director of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation in Brahmanbaria.

Mahbubur Rahman, a farmer of Jethagram of Nasirnagar upazila, said that since paddy cultivation in haor areas is not very profitable, sunflower cultivation is becoming popular in the region.

"I have grown sunflowers on two bighas of land in collaboration with the local agriculture office," he added.

Md Saiful Alam, deputy director of DAE in Kishoreganj, said sunflower seeds are currently selling for between Tk 50 to Tk 60 per kilogramme in the district.

Around 1,160 farmers in Kishoreganj are cultivating sunflowers under a government programme that provides them with hybrid seeds and fertilizers.

The government initiated the programme to make sunflower cultivation popular in the district's haor areas, where this is huge potential to grow the crop instead of vegetables or paddy.

Alal Uddin, a sunflower farmer of Hossainpur village in Mithamoin upazila, said he and four other farmers have been cultivating sunflowers since last year as the profit is reasonable.

Haor farmers traditionally depend on a single crop, namely boro paddy, but they are now enjoying the scope to produce another crop in the gap between harvests, said Md Rafiul Islam, agriculture officer of Mithamoin upazila.

The cultivation of sunflowers also makes the land fertile, facilitating good production for the next crops, he added.