Pabna farmers turning to vegetable cultivation

Farmers in Pabna are increasingly turning towards vegetable cultivation as other crops offer comparatively lower profits, according to various locals.

Md Nasir Uddin, a farmer in Chor-Gorgori village of Ishwardi upazila, cultivated winter vegetables on three bighas of land this year.

"I cultivated one bigha of eggplant, one bigha of cauliflower, and other winter crops in another field," said Uddin, who expects to earn between TK 50,000 to Tk 80,000 from each bigha.

Like him, many farmers are rushing to cultivate vegetables instead of other crops in Ishwardi upazila, the biggest vegetable producing hub in Pabna.

Paddy cultivation provides an annual profit of about Tk 15,000 to Tk 20,000 while vegetables rake in significantly higher earnings, he added.

During a visit to different shoal areas in Pabna Sadar and Ishwardi upazila, this correspondent found that vast amounts of land in and around the region are being used to grow vegetables.

A total of 35,045 hectares of land in the district have been brought under vegetable cultivation this year, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Pabna. As such, farmers in the region expect to collect 8.24 lakh tonnes of vegetables altogether.

Of the total land being used to grow vegetables, winter crops have been sown on 22,250 hectares with a production target of about 5.68 lakh tonnes.

In summer, 12,795 hectares of land were cultivated to produce around 2.57 lakh tonnes of vegetables, DAE data shows.

"Almost all kinds of seasonal vegetables, sans potato, can be cultivated in Pabna due to its suitable soil conditions," said Md Abdul Latif, additional deputy director of the DAE in Pabna.

"And since farmers here could earn handsomely from commercial vegetable cultivation, local agriculture officials try to inspire them to do more by providing technical and logistical support," he added.

The DAE official went on to say that vegetable prices vary depending on supply, which is often subject to manipulation by syndicates.

"But even though there are no fixed prices in the vegetable market, we expect sales of up to Tk 2.5 thousand crore in the district this year by assuming an average price of about Tk 25 to Tk 30 per kilogramme," Latif said.

Vegetable producers in Pabna supply kitchen markets across the country with eight of the country's 10 biggest vegetable wholesale hubs being based in the district.

"I sold each kilogramme of cauliflower at Tk 25 to a wholesale trader on Friday but the same vegetable is selling for Tk 40 to Tk 50 at the retail level in Pabna and other districts," said Badsha Malitha, another farmer of Chor-Gorgori village.

Similarly, the price of beans, carrots, tomatoes, and other seasonal vegetables differs from the producer and consumer levels, he added.

While speaking with The Daily Star, Sajahan Ali Badsha, a prize-winning vegetable producer, said farmers are being deprived of fair prices as the market is completely controlled by syndicates.

"Farmers cannot keep their vegetables in the fields for long and since they have no scope to sell directly to consumers, they have to depend on wholesale traders who dictate prices," he said.

After buying the vegetables from local producers for cheap, the wholesalers sell them to big markets across the country with prices soaring by Tk 5 to Tk 10 along the way, Badsha added.

Md Monirul Islam, a local wholesaler, told this correspondent that transporting the vegetables to big cities or even nearby towns raises another heacache as syndicates prevail among truckers as well.

"Truckers often charged double the cost for transporting vegetables in the peak season due to the truck syndicates," Islam said.

"So, we need to spend Tk 30,000 to Tk 35,000 to transport each truck of vegetables to Dhaka and Chattogram and due to the excessive transportation cost, vegetable prices soar," he added.

Echoing the same, the DAE's Latif said middlemen eat up most of the profits as a result.

"We need to set up a supply chain, and control and monitor the vegetable market for the sake of farmers," he added.