Early variety potato growers in Thakurgaon, Bangladesh are making good profit

Farmers in Bangladesh's Thakurgaon region harvesting early variety potatoes are making good profit this season. 

Traders from different districts including Dhaka, Chittagong of the country are coming to the Thakurgaon district to contact farmers to make some fast bucks.

The newly harvested varieties are now selling at prices between Tk.30 and Tk.35 per kilogram in local markets although sowing of potato seeds will continue till first week of February next year, said growers and traders.

Just a week ago, the item was being sold at Tk 40-45 when it appeared in the markets first, they said.

Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Bhupesh Kumar Pal told this correspondent that his office set a target to cultivate potato on 21,200 hectares of land in the district in the current season.

Of the target, farmers cultivated early variety of potato on about 8,480 hectares of land in five upazilas following harvest of short duration aman paddy or other short-term vegetables. Agriculture officials said, a good number of farmers are reaping benefit from early variety potatoes as they had cultivated those after harvesting the short duration variety aman paddy like Bina-7 at different villages of the upazilas. 

During a visit on Wednesday this correspondent saw farmers busy reaping early variety potato at Debipur, Chilarang, Shibganj, Mohammadpur, Nargoon and Salondar villages in Sadar upazila. Traders coming from different districts were buying potatoes from the field at a price in between Tk.30 and Tk.35, depending on their sizes and quality. Nipendranath Barman, a farmer of Debipur village in Sadar upazila said he cultivated early potato on 12-decimal of land spending Tk.7,000. He sold his produces at Tk.17,000 which brought him a profit of Tk.10,000.

Sirajul Islam of Nargoon village under the same upazila said he cultivated potato on a bigha of land (one bigha is equal to .3306 acre) and got 36 maunds of potato. He spent Tk.18,000 and sold his total produces at Tk.43,000 making a profit of about Tk. 25,000.

Several other farmers of the district said, farmers have witnessed good production of early variety of potato this season due to favourable weather and availability of agro-inputs including fertilisers and potato seeds with low price during the sowing season.