Home ›› 18 Mar 2023 ›› Nation
Farmers of Cumilla’s Chandina upazila are happy with the bumper yield and good prices of the early harvest of summer tomatoes this season. They expect to overcome last year’s losses.
Initially, tomatoes were sold for Tk 1,700-2,000 per maund, however, the prices have come down to Tk 800-1,000 per maund as supply increases.
Out of the 13 unions of the upazila, tomato cultivation has been done this year in various areas of about eight unions including Chandina municipality. Chaykot, Tulatuli, Belashar, Chandiara, Biswaspur, Gobindpur, Harang, Rarichar, Bashikpur, Shalikha of Suhilpur Union, Hossainpur Chatadda
of Mohichail Union, Basantpur Kaliarchar of Gollai Union, Rasulpur Jiruish of Nawabpur Union, Barkari Deokamta of Barkarai Union, Lakshmipur of Joag Union, Maizkhar Union
Alikamora, Madhushair of Etabarpur Union, Dobaria of Badera Union, Chilora, Dumuria, Mohanpur of Khirasar of Barkit Union, and Srimantapur. Besides these areas, many villages have cultivated tomatoes, the yield is better this year than last year due to favourable weather.
Tomato farmers said that they could not get much profit from tomato cultivation last year as the weather was not favourable. They expect to make up the losses of last year with this year's harvest.
Farmer Mobarak Hossain of Srimantpur village of Chandina Municipality said that he spent about Tk 2.50 lakh to cultivate different varieties of tomatoes on 130 decimals of land.
So far he has sold tomatoes for about Tk 3.50 lakh and he expects to sell more than Tk 1 lakh with the rest of the tomatoes yet to be harvested.
Another tomato grower, Md Munaf Bepari, said that he has spent about Tk 3 lakh to cultivate tomatoes on 150 decimals of land, and so far he has sold tomatoes for about Tk 4.5 lakh. He said that if there is no natural disaster, he will be able to sell Tk 1 lakh worth of more tomatoes.
Billal Hossain, a farmer of the same upazila said that it costs about Tk 2,000-2,500 to cultivate tomatoes on about a decimal of land.
He has cultivated Raja, Sultan, Ananya and Sheikhsham varieties of tomatoes on 80 decimals of land. He expects to make a similar amount of profit to his production cost.
The tomatoes are being sold all across the country by wholesalers, including Dhaka, Chattogram and Rangpur.
Monir Hossain, a wholesaler from Dhaka, said he buys tomatoes from the Nimsa market in Cumilla every year. “Tomatoes here are tasty and look attractive, so they are in more demand. The yield has been good this year and the prices are fair too.”
Agriculture Officer of Chandina Upazila Md Monirul Islam Romel said that the farmers are happy with the tomato harvest this year.
“About 80-85 tonnes of tomatoes are harvested per hectare. As the production cost is low, more farmers are becoming interested in tomato cultivation nowadays,” he said.
