Arum shoot farming costs little, brings high profit
A farmer holds arum shoots, locally called kachur lati, at his field at Karnopur village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila that sees increasing cultivation of the nutritious vegetable due to its high demand and low farming cost. PHOTO: STAR
Farmers of Lalmonirhat and Bogra districts are cultivating arum for shoots, locally known as kachur lati, on more areas of land as the nutritious vegetable brings high profit.
Latiraj variety of arum sees successful cultivation in Lalmonirhat district due to suitability of the soil and necessary help from the agriculture department, reports our correspondent.
The initiative, relatively new in the district, brings high profit to the farmers and bears bright prospect of replacing large-scale cultivation of tobacco in this region, agriculture officials said.
Five hundred acres of land have been brought under arum cultivation this year in five upazilas of the district against only 12 acres last year, said sources of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat.
“The DAE office has arranged training programmes for arum cultivation and carried out campaign for popularising it. We hope arum cultivation will help to uproot tobacco cultivation in the district,” said Mohammad Nuruzzaman, Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila agriculture officer.
"Latiraj variety of arum is plated early January. The harvest starts in mid-April and the yield continues for eight months till mid-December. A farmer gets 3 to 5 maunds of yield from each decimal of land,” said Nurul Haque, arum grower at Baninagar village of Kaliganj upazila.
"Arum cultivation involves very little cost as it requires only some organic fertiliser and no insecticide. Cattle do not eat it and labour cost is saved as this vegetable grows normally," said Shahjahan Miah of Karnopur village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.
Bivu Chandro Sen of Barobari village in Lalmonirhat Sadar said, “I have cultivated arum on four bighas of land spending Tk 18 thousand this year. I have already earned over Tk 30 thousand and hope to earn at least Tk 3 lakh after meeting up family requirement till December.”
Now one kg of arum lati is selling for Tk 18 to 20 per kg in the local market and the price will see a good rise after two or three months, locals said.
Our Bogra Correspondent reports: Farmers in the district are expecting huge production of arum in the current season.
Around 5,500 hectares of land have been brought under arum cultivation as the farmers of Sadar, Shajahanpur, Gabtoli, Dupchanchia, Adamdighi and Shibganj upazilas of the district have cultivated the vegetable on larger than usual areas of land this year, said sources at Bogra DAE office.
Authorities arrange trainings and provide necessary agro-inputs and easy-term agriculture loans to the farmers for cultivation of arum and other vegetables, they said.
Farid Uddin of Joybangla More under Rajapur union of Sadar upazila said he cultivated arum on 1.2 bighas of land spending Tk 4,000 and expecting Tk 12,000 as profit from there.
Alamgir Hossain of Sujabad area under Madla union said this year he cultivated arum on four bighas of land spending Tk around 18,000 and expecting profit of Tk around 30,000.
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