Poor garlic prices dishearten farmers

The cultivation of one of the most essential seasonings in Bengali cuisine, garlic, has gradually been decreasing in the Rajshahi region, arguably the largest garlic producing zone in the country, because of its poor market price over the last couple of years.

According to the farmers of the division, unable to make profit, they had been storing their produced garlic, expecting a change in the wholesale and retail prices for the last three years.

As the prices have been stagnant in the pandemic-hit economy of the country, many farmers are opting for other crops and spices, and therefore garlic cultivation has been reduced massively in the region, said several agriculturists of the region.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), farmers of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, and Natore under the Rajshahi division are set to produce 3.23 lakh metric tonnes of garlic in 35,712 hectares of land this year.

Last year, the farmers of these districts produced 3.26 lakh metric tonnes of garlic in 36,595 hectares of land.

“As the farmers did not get a good price last year, many farmers opted for other crops, reducing the overall garlic cultivation in the region. About 4,896 hectares of cropland have been brought under garlic cultivation till now,” said Md Sirajul Islam, additional director of Rajshahi divisional DAE.

He further mentioned that the wholesale price of garlic is around Tk 25 to Tk 35 per kg, and the retail price is around Tk 40 to Tk 50 per kg this year, which is lower than expected.

“We are encouraging the farmers to cultivate garlic so that we do not fall short and affect the overall production in the country so much so that we need to import the spice,” he said.

Farmers of Chalan Beel in the northern district of Natore is set to produce garlic on 25,002 hectares of land this year, said Mahmudul Faruque, deputy director of Natore DAE.

During a recent visit to the Baraigram and Gurudaspur upazilas, farmers, mostly rural women, were seen busy sowing garlic seeds in their cropland while some were applying fertilisers to the plants.

Abul Hossain, 50, a farmer of Dharabarisha village of Gurudaspur upazila, said that he stored his last year’s garlic produce to get a good price later but failed. This year, he cultivated the spice on five bighas of cropland, spending Tk 36,000.

“I am not optimistic about making a profit from garlic this year as well. That is why I also cultivated white-fleshed melon, locally known as bangi, as a mixed crop on the same cropland. If the weather and the market price remain favourable, I am expecting to earn a profit of Tk 25,000 from a bigha of my produce,” the farmer said.

Another farmer from the same upazila, Sukumar Sarker, said that he sold off most of his garlic produce last year and suffered a huge loss.

“Expecting a profit this year, I have loaned Tk 1 lakh from one of my relatives and leased out a six-bigha land to cultivate garlic. If I do not make a profit, I do not know how I would repay my debt,” said Sukumar.

Addressing the issues, Ayub Ali, a prominent garlic trader of Natore district, told The Business Post that some unlawful businessmen form a syndicate and store the produced garlic intentionally, leading to a shortage of the product in the domestic market.

“They falsely drive the government to import the spice from abroad, which in turn overflow the domestic market and lead to a reduced price of the product,” said Ayub Ali.

“Farmers suffer while the middlemen in this trade take benefit of the situation. Farmers are gradually opting for other crops after facing losses. If the government does not monitor the situation and ensure a fair price for the farmers, the cultivation will be even less next year,” said Jahid Hasan, a farmer of Baraigram, Natore.