Taro stolon a boon for Joypurhat farmers

Taro stolon, which is "Kochur Loti" in Bangla, has turned into a boon for farmers of Panchbibi upazila of Joypurhat as its consumption has slowly grown locally and internationally over the years.

Demand for this popular vegetable has also been met for it being a cost-effective crop for growers. The cash crop is now a brand crop of Joypurhat.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of Joypurhat, the vegetable produced in different villages of Panchbibi upazila in the district is being exported to 25 countries.

The DAE officials said the soil and weather of Joypurhat were very much favourable for cultivating "Bari Lotiraj-1", a variety developed by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (Bari).

It is high yielding, cost-effective, and can be produced nearly round the year, said the farmers.

The DAE officials said 1,250 hectares of land were utilised in Panchbibi upazila this year, with the production target set at around 70,000 metric tonnes, of which some 40 per cent were expected to be exported.

Farmers Lutfar Rahman, Amir Ali, Habibur Rahman, and Sanwar Hossain of Patabuka village in Panchbibi upazila, started cultivating Bari Lotiraj-1 on a trial basis in 1991.

It turned out to be pretty profitable, which prompted them to continue cultivating the crop.

More farmers in the upazila started getting interested in cultivating the vegetable for its high demand.

Monwar Hossain, a farmer of Keshabpur village in Panchbibi upazila of Joypurhat, said he has been producing the vegetable on a bigha of land for the last 20 years.

"I never suffered losses," he said, adding that it was the safest crop to cultivate in terms of an assured return.

He said he invested Tk 30,000 and made sales of Tk 1.1 lakh so far. "It is easily possible to earn Tk 5,000 per week by selling the vegetable," he said.

Sweet Ahmed, another farmer of Aymarasulpur village of Panchbibi upazila, said the vegetable had turned into a boon for farmers of the upazila, changing the fortunes of many.

"Once the plants start providing yields, there is no significant costs to be borne by farmers," he said.

During a recent visit to different villages in the upazila, including Bagjana, Dharanji, Shimultoli, Dargapara, Aymarasulpur, Balighata, Koria and Belpukur, the correspondent found the vegetable being cultivated in large areas. Farmers were seen busy in their cropland form morning till afternoon.

Early morning every day, the farmers harvested the vegetable and brought it to wholesale market Bottoli Bazar for sale. The market remains open till noon every day.

Each kilogramme sells for Tk 25 to Tk 35, depending on quality.

Talking to The Daily Star, farmers said they had suffered massive losses for the disruption to transportation due to the Covid-19 induced lockdowns since the infection hit the country in March last year.

But nowadays the situation has improved a lot, said farmers.

Md Chanchal, a wholesale trader, said buyers from other districts, mostly from Dhaka, Chattagram and Sylhet, and Barishal, come to the wholesale market.

The vegetable is exported to different countries, including the US, Australia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Singapore.

SM Meftahul Bari, deputy director of the DAE Joypurhat office, said the vegetable was already being exported to 25 countries while his office had proposed setting up a plant for processing the vegetable for export.