Sapling growers in Bogura counting losses

Farmers in Bogura district who grow winter vegetable seedlings used all over the country are counting losses this year due to the late coming of the monsoon season, ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and low selling prices.

During a visit to the district's Shajahanpur upazila, where more than 300 farmers cultivate saplings on about 25 hectares of land, many locals said the demand and price for their produce is three times lower compared to that last year.

Besides, the saplings have been damaged by bad weather as well as over-aging, according to Md Milon a local farmer who grew various winter vegetable saplings on three bighas of land.

"I sold saplings worth Tk 10 lakh in 2020 but this year, I have sold that of just Tk 2 lakh worth," he said.

This is because vegetable growers from different districts are unable to visit Bogura to buy saplings or seedlings amid the current coronavirus crisis.

Milon went on to say that there are about 300 to 400 farmers in the region's Shahnagar, Darikullah, Mustail, Kamarpara, and Khattrapara villages that cultivated saplings who are now facing a similar situation.

Echoing the same, Fahim Rahman, another sapling grower of Shajahanpur upazila, said demand has fallen significantly as farmers from other districts are not coming to buy their crops.

"In August last year, we sold about 1,000 saplings of different winter vegetables (both early flowering and late) for around Tk 2,000. This year though, the same number of saplings is being sold for only Tk 500 to Tk 700," Rahman added.

The saplings grown on one bigha of land used to bring in more than Tk 1 lakh but now, the same amount barely earns Tk 28,000, said Mokhsedul Islam, a farmer based in the same upazila.

Growing saplings is very costly as the price of hybrid seeds is currently very high.

"So, if we want to cultivate one kilogramme of hybrid seeds, we need between Tk 35,000 to Tk 40,000," said farmer Abdul Khalek.

According to local sources as well as the district's Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) office, Shahnagar village of Shajahanpur upazila is known as the country's hub for winter vegetable seedlings as buyers from all over come to buy crops every year.

Around 20 years ago, some local farmers in the area started growing vegetable seedlings on a commercial basis.

Eventually, this business spread across the whole district, they said.

However, the industry has also taken a hit due to the high price of paddy this year as many farmers switched to the crop in search of better profits, said farmer Abdur Rahim.

When contacted, Md Nur Alam, the agriculture officer of Shajahanpur upazila, said due to persistent rain throughout August, many winter vegetable farmers were yet to begin cultivation, leading to a lack of demand for saplings

Normally, the monsoon season ends in July.

"Farmers of different districts have prepared their lands for cultivation but are unable to begin due to continuous rain which may damage their crops," he said.

Alam also mentioned that many sapling growers opted for paddy cultivation this year as they were getting good prices.

"We had a target to cultivate 1,300 hectares of paddy this season but farmers cultivated nearly 1,400 hectares of the crop," the upazila agriculture officer added.

However, Dulal Hossain, deputy director of the DAE office in Bogura, said sapling prices would increase again when the rains stop.