Home ›› 11 Apr 2023 ›› Editorial
Jute which has a great past can be a great forex earner for the country in the future as well.
Some historic events including the two Great Wars played a role in boosting the jute trade. Time was when steam engines were yet to be invented. When the authorities of the ship were thinking about what fibre would be best to make the halyards for the ships, they came to know about the jute of Bengal. Then they started to use the fibre to make the ship's halyards. On the initiative of the Bengal Board of Trade, in 1791, samples of jute from Bengal were sent to England. In 1793, for the first time in history, 1000 tons of raw jute was exported to England by the East India Company from India. That was the first time that jute earned a place as a product for export in the international market.
In the Dutch colonies of the East Indian Islands, coffee was being produced heavily. In 1838, the Dutch government made the decision not to make coffee bags out of nylon fibre and would rather use jute bags to carry coffee. As a result, the Dutch also had an impact on jute exportation.
Weaving artists of the Mymensingh and Dhaka regions used to use jute threads to make clothes and other various products. After meeting the local demands with ease, it starts being exported to England, Germany, France, North and South America, Burma, Indonesia, and China. In 1850, 9 lakh, 35 thousand, and 713 pieces of cloth were exported to those countries mentioned earlier. The market value of which was 2 lakh, 159 thousand, and 782 rupees.
In 1853, a war famously known as the `Crimean War’ (1853–1856) broke out between Russia and Turkey. England steps forward to help Turkey. During that time, Russia used to export flax fibre to England. As per the situation of the war, Russia stopped exporting flax fibre to England. The demand for jute was then increasing in England. Similarly, during the American Civil War (1861–1865), a battle was fought between the two parties known as the Federal and Confederate. During the war, both sides would use bags made out of cotton, but soon they realized that jute bags were more useful than cotton bags. For this reason, they wanted to use jute bags during the war. As a result, they started buying jute from Bengal.
Perhaps jute is the first crop, the exporting of which to foreign countries turned out to be profitable for this country’s farmers. European merchant-class people and local businessmen were benefiting the most from this situation. Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, students from Bengali Muslim families who had completed their primary education could not study any further due to a lack of money. At that time, jute farmers see that they have a small sum of money left after their jute expenses. They get the opportunity to spend this extra amount of money on their children's education. In this way, jute farmers and jute Businessmen give their children the opportunity to learn English and get a proper education. Afterwards, these children lead different sectors of the country and play a role in changing society. That is why jute is not only a profitable crop but has also flourished socially, economically, and culturally in Bengal.
The history of Bengali jute was so glorious that its achievements are still proudly claimed. by the farmers of the country. By the time the East India Company began exporting jute to foreign countries, 81.6 per cent of it was produced in East Bengal. The rest were produced in Udsa, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Bombay.
Then, during the Pakistan period, many jute mills were established in East Bengal. Even though the mills made sacks out of jute, they also made carpets and doormats. For many years, the mills were profitable, but after a few years, they started facing losses, and some mills were closed. Even after this, the jute cultivation continued. Jute's research and activities continued.
According to the Bangladesh Economic Review of 2022, about 3 per cent of the country’s total export earnings come from jute. With the help of the Jute Diversification Promotion Center (JDPC), the government has taken many actions to promote the production of jute products. Entrepreneurs have made 280 types of jute products. Recently, the process of making polymer out of jute has been discovered. This is seen as a replacement for polythene: a bag made out of jute, which is called a ‘golden bag'.
Just because jute easily biodegrades, jute products are popular in foreign countries. As this is environment-friendly, foreigners like using it. This is also the reason why many people are working on jute products. After all this, when the jute farmers are not interested in cultivating jute, then naturally a question appears in their state of mind. Why do they have reluctance toward this? While the jute farmers should be happy and interested in jute cultivation after hearing such success stories about jute as a crop, they are saying different things.
The farmers are saying that after cultivating jute, they are not getting the price that is well deserved. The farmers cannot cover their expenses from the production of jute. This is why they are not willing to cultivate jute. They are also saying, "Due to the lack of rain, we are facing problems with rotting jute. Apart from this, the labour costs, fertilizers, and seeds are expensive. Altogether, jute cultivation is very difficult and expensive. If the government is willing to give us our needs for free, then we would have been interested in jute cultivation. If there is no rain during the retting process, we must be allowed to use the water. irrigation canals of the Water Development Board."
Generally, in March, seeds are implanted in fields, and in June, during the rainy season, the jute plant is harvested. During that time, ponds, canals, and rivers are filled with water. The farmers can easily soak the jute in water during this time. Recently, there have been a lot of problems with jute retting. Just like these are weather-related processes, as well, these are worldly.
Now, the whole world is a victim of climate change. Over the past years, the impact of this change can be seen throughout the country. Especially last year, there was less rain during the monsoon. A few years ago, during this season, there was a lot of rain and rotting jute was not a big issue. As of now, rainwater is unavailable. The farmers are using pumps to fill up the ponds and canals. It is truly an expensive process for the farmers to handle, as they have to buy the water supply for pumps. In most ponds, they are undertaking the commercial fish farming process, but for many years, they have not been able to rot jute.
Jute can be rotted by using the ribbon retting method. Extracting the bark from jute trees and then letting it rot in a small area of water. This process is called the ribbon retting method. In this process, the jute sticks are spoiled. The agricultural officers tell the farmers to use the ribbon retting process as an alternative when they do not have sufficient water.
When the jute trees are mature, they can finally be cut down. After cutting down jute trees, the jute is rotten. Then, after the jute is rotten, the fibre is extracted, and it is dried in the sunlight. After the extraction of fibre from the jute tree, the jute tree is transformed into jute sticks. Now, after the jute sticks are dried in the sun, they are later used as fuel. The farmers are saying that if the jute is not rotted properly, they cannot get excellent quality fibre. To rot the fibre, jute needs to be dipped in water for a minimum of 3 weeks. If the fibre is dipped in dirty water, then the quality of the jute decreases and the fibre turns black. Whenever this happens, farmers have a chance of getting less money.
The farmers from these districts: Jashore, Jinaibadh, Magura, Kushtia, Chuadanga, Meherpur, Naogaon, Rangpur, Lalmonirhaat, Nilfamari, Kurigram, and Gaibanda have said that they have apparently lost interest in jute cultivation. Since the beginning of the jute cultivation season, they have said that they do not want to cultivate jute any longer.
Even if the entire country’s farmers have no interest in jute cultivation, farmers in Habiganj are taking their own initiatives and cultivating jute. Jute cultivation has been increasing day by day in this district, in the upazilas of Baniachong, Lakhia, and Maduvpur. Agriculture officers are saying that the soil and weather are perfect for jute cultivation.
The rich history of jute indicates a great future for jute. As jute products are eco-friendly, the demand for jute in the entire world is high. By using up these possibilities, government attention is required in jute production. Farmers should be given subsidies whenever necessary to buy raw jute, thereby collaborating in jute rotting. The government should step forward and help them out in these cases. There is potential for jute fibre to change this polluted world. Therefore, the jute of Bengal could once again dominate the world market. All concerned people should work on this sincerely.
The writer is a researcher and columnist. She can be contacted at [email protected]
