Home ›› 02 Nov 2022 ›› Front
Sunflower production has fallen significantly in the last fiscal year despite the sector receiving strong support from the government as it looks to reduce import dependency for edible oil.
Production of sunflower oilseeds fell by 37.78 per cent in fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) compared to the previous year, according to data released by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). The amount of sunflower cultivated land has also dropped by 40.51 per cent during the period.
Industry insiders blame lack of seed varieties, rising seeds prices and monopoly in private seed business as the main reasons for the production fall.
Rise and fall
Sunflower cultivation gained popularity among farmers in recent years as demands for edible oil rose, creating hopes of high profitability. The oilseed’s production output reached 25,654.20 tonnes in FY21 which was only 4,000 tons in FY17.
However, production fell to 15,960.79 tonnes in FY22, a drop of 9693.41 tonnes compared to the previous fiscal year.
Meanwhile, sunflower was cultivated in some 9,163 hectares of land in FY22, down from 15,403 hectares in FY21.
Across the country, Barguna produced the highest amount of sunflower oilseeds in FY22 3,289.5 tonnes. Among other major sunflower producing districts, Patuakhali produced 1,395 tonnes, Bhola 1,272.5 tonnes, Sylhet 935 tonnes and Pirujpur 696 tonnes.
However, Khulna topped the list in terms of productivity– 2.6 tonnes per hectare. The lowest productivity was recorded at 1 tonnes per hectare in Manikganj. In the hilly area average production stood at 1.82 tonnes per hectare.
Seed crisis
According to farmers and DAE officials, sunflower is a profitable oilseed crop and can be grown all over Bangladesh– from coastal to hilly areas.
Usually, the popular oilseed is cultivated after Aman harvesting-- from mid-November to mid-December. But as Aman is usually harvested late in Barishal region, due to coastal land pattern, farmers there start sowing the seeds in January. They need special varieties of seeds to grow there as regular varieties do not fare well due to the delay in plantation.
But monopolisation by a single private seed company is disrupting sunflower cultivation in Barishal, officials alleged.
“A single hybrid variety is suitable for delayed sowing and a single private seed company supplies the hybrid variety,” Md Abdur Rashid, deputy director of DAE, told The Business Post.
He said, “Seed varieties invented by the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) cost Tk200-Tk300 per kilogram while hybrid varieties of seeds sold by the private company cost Tk1,200-1,600.
“BARI varieties are not suitable for this [Barishal] region. Last year they failed to supply the seeds which reduced the production significantly in Barguna.”
A fall in production in Barishal, the region with the highest production rate in the country, reduces the gross produce massively. Rising prices of hybrid seeds due to monopolisation is also discouraging farmers in the region from sunflower cultivation.
“Hybrid seed price starts from Tk1,200 per kg. The price rose to Tk1,600 when the demand increased. This is a monopoly as no other company imported seeds suitable for the coastal areas,” said Md Khairul Islam Mollik, district training officer of Patuakhali.
He said, “Government should take initiatives to make seeds available to reduce cultivation cost and keep growing sunflower production to reduce import dependency,” he said.
“If the farmers fail to make profit they will not be interested in cultivating this oil seed in future,” he added.
Continuation of govt support urged
Support from the government has been one of the key reasons behind the rise in sunflower production in the previous years. Under various programmes, the government has been providing farmers with seeds, fertiliser and pesticide for free while irrigation costs are also being partially borne by the DAE in a bid to boost oilseed production and reduce import dependency to 60 per cent.
Sultan Sarder, a sunflower grower and beneficiary of government’s support, cultivated the oilseed in 10 acres of land in FY22. He made a profit of Tk15,000 per acre.
“I will increase sunflower production if the government continues the support. Without the aid it will be hard to make profit due to high cultivation costs,” he said.
Bangladesh imported edible oil worth more than $2 billion in FY22.
According to the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries, Bangladesh’s annual consumption of oil and fat stands at around 30.3 lakh metric tonnes, 92 per cent of which is met through imports.
The agriculture ministry has formulated a plan to meet 40 per cent of the demand by FY25. But the current domestic production of oilseeds is nowhere close to achieving that goal, data from the DAE suggests.
Bangladesh produced 12.32 lakh metric tonnes of oilseeds in the last fiscal year which was 10.59 lakh metric tonnes in FY17.
However, extraction from locally produced oilseeds is only around 3.25 to 3.50 lakh metric tonnes.
