Jute farmers of Jhenaidah are anticipating tough times ahead as hostile weather including torrential rain seriously hampers their production.
According to the District Agriculture Extension (DAE), jute has been planted on 22,450 hectares of land in six upazilas of the district this year of which 70 percent have already been harvested.
Of these, 5,220 hectares are in Sadar upazila, 1,600 hectares in Kaliganj, 820 hectares in Kotchandpur, 3,210 hectares in Maheshpur, 7,950 hectares in Shailkupa and 3,650 hectares in Harinakundu.
Corresponding to the cultivation area target, the production target for jute has been set at 51,496 metric tons. Although the target of jute cultivation has been met, the same cannot be said about the production target.
Local farmers said the yield did not meet their expectations due to excessive rainfall during the growing period of jute.
Ruhul Amin, a jute farmer from Uttar Mirzapur village in Shailkupa upazila, said jute seedlings grew well after seeds were planted. “But that halted because of the growing root due to excessive rain.”
Sabuj Mia, a farmer hailing from Samanta village in Maheshpur upazila, said he planted jute on three bighas of land this year but forced to plant other crops in one bigha land after a while due to poor growth.
“The yield of jute in the other two bighas of land was also bad,” he added.
Jute farmer Alim Uddin from Pabhati village in Sadar Upazila, said he planted jute on one bigha of land this year which cost him 34,000 taka altogether.
“I’m expecting 13-14 maunds of jute from 22 katha land which may be sold at the current market price of 28,000 taka and jute sticks will be sold for 5,000 taka. Overall, my loss will be 1,000 taka,” he said.
Although the price of jute in the market is 1600-2000 taka per maund (1 maund = 37.5kg), the farmers are losing money due to poor production, said Rashed Mollah, a jute farmer from Bhatai village in Shailkupa upazila.
DAE Deputy Director Kripangshu Shekhar Biswas said, "Although the planting target has been achieved, the production target is not being met."
He noted that the government will help affected farmers under various incentives to overcome their losses.
(Source: UNB)
