Lack of storage facility compels farmers to sell potato at low prices in Bogra, Bangladesh

Thousands of farmers of all twelve upazilas under Bogra district are compelled to sell produced potato in the local kitchen markets at low price due to scarcity of storage facility from last few weeks after harvesting the crops.

Most of the farmers expressed their dissatisfaction over inadequate storage facility. They claimed that political high-ups have major holdings of the cold storages.

The growers of the area are suffering much whenever they go to market to sell in their demand period as the wholesalers who hoard potato for getting more profit keeping in the storage and put potato farmers in great difficulty forcing them to sell their produce at low prices.

While visiting this correspondent found the growers facing problems, as their nearby cold storage has no space for preserving their produced potato.

Booking of the storage has been completed in January and most of the potatoes of land have been packed with jute sacks as they could not yet manage any cold storage.

When contacted Deputy Director of DAE Chandi Das said storage capacity in the district is 60 per cent of the total production and the district has a target to get 0.7 million tonnes of potato from 77,500 hectares of land. But farmers cultivated potato at 88,550 hectares.

We should come forward to establish more potato storage facilities in coming year so that the potato growers can keep their produce in storage.