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A variety of fresh vegetables abounds in the capital nowadays, with farmers as well as retailers carrying them squarely from their suburban farms.
A direct supply from the outskirts fields to the metropolis has drawn the attention of a whole lot of denizens who are now more intent on relishing the taste of fresh herbs and root crops.
Sensing the pulse of city customers, growers have focused on vegetable cultivation that is fetching them a good profit than traditional agricultural produce.
“Earlier, we used to produce rice, maize and wheat, but farming vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, brinjal, radish, bean, bottle gourd and some other edible plants give us high yield,” said Mofiz, a vegetable grower in Savar.
Visiting different kitchen markets, it was learnt that the city residents do not backtrack on spending extra for fresh vegetables grown in places like Savar, Keraniganj, Purbachal and Narsingdi where even many people drive to collect green herbs.
According to traders, although vegetables are mostly supplied to Dhaka from Jashore, Rangpur, Jamalpur, Bogura, Sirajganj, Kushtia and some other districts, those grown in the city suburbs sell like hot cakes.
Saiful Islam Jewel, a banker living in Dhaka, said he buys vegetables not from markets but from the farmland at Birulia in Savar.
“In the morning, I go to villages like Sadullapur, Akran and Sharulia, some 12 kilometres from the city, to buy the fresh items,” he described.
Like Saiful, physician Amzadul Haque, a resident of Bashundhara Residential Area, said vegetables from Purbachal are better than those imported from districts.
“It is comparatively higher in prices but I prefer to buy it for freshness,” he opined.
According to a Purbachal vegetable grower Shah Alam, the majority of his vegetables is sold out from his farm to a number of retailers as well as individual consumers.
The price of locally produced one-kilogramme vegetable in the area is higher, with the price increase ranging from Tk 10 to Tk 30 sometimes.
Fresh, not organic
Farmers as well as consumers said vegetables grown in the surrounding areas of the capital are fresh but not organic.
According to Dr Amzad, he would have been happier if those were organic.
“I started producing organic vegetables but failed to get fair price due to lack of trust on the part of consumers,” said Zahirul Islam, a farmer at Mushurikhola under Vakurta union in Savar.
Farming land down, yet production up
Savar Upzila Agriculture Officer Najiyat Ahmed observed that industrialisation and residential demand eat up farming land but product diversity has led to bumper production.
Farming land has been decreasing by more than 1 per cent per annum, she estimated.
Some 1.45 lakh tonnes of vegetables were grown in over 4,000-hectare land in Savar last year. Some farmers grew vegetables three times a year.
Of them, 1,200 tonnes of high-end vegetables were produced in 100-hectare land. They were spring onion, sweetcorn, capsicum, Thai leaves, Thai ginger, Thai palanpur spinach, zucchini, broccoli, cherry tomato, beet root, jalapeno, Chinese leaves, french beans, wester mushroom and many more.
Over 60 types of domestic and 20 types of high-end vegetables are grown in Savar, according to the upazila agriculture officer.
Md Atikul Islam, a farmer at Moitka village under Tetuljhora union, said like others he grew vegetables in his leased out land.
“I have to pay Tk 10,000 yearly for the lease of one-decimal land while there are labour and fertiliser costs too,” he explained.
Like him, over 300 farmers are engaged in vegetable production over the last decade.
Dr Shamim Ahmed, additional deputy director (Tuber Crops, Vegetable and Spices) of Horticulture Wing, Department of Agricultural Extension, said nearly 250 lakh tonnes of vegetables are grown on 13-lakh hectares yearly.
Professor Jahidul Islam, head of Horticulture Department, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, told The Business Post that vegetable variants and consumptions are increasing in Bangladesh.
Blessed with product diversity, people can get some rare vegetables round the year, he said, adding that vegetables are important components of the human food basket for their taste, and nutritional benefits.
A joint study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends consumption of a minimum of 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day.
