Vegetable growers left in the lurch

Seeing bright-coloured vegetables dotted across large stretches of land could make any farmer take pride in the hard work they put in to produce them.

But the moment farmers in the northern districts think about the prices wholesalers offer them, their delight starts wearing off.

The prices in the ongoing peak winter season are so low that most growers are unlikely to recoup their investment, let alone make any profit.

"The price has been falling for the last seven days," said Azizur Rahman, a vegetable grower in the Sadar upazila in the district.

Winter vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, beans, potato, brinjal, and gourd are grown abundantly in the northern districts, especially Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Nilphamari and Rangpur.

The vegetables are consumed locally and supplied to other parts of the country as well. 

But the price fall is quite frustrating for farmers.

Farmers are selling brinjal directly to traders from their field for Tk 3 per kilogramme (kg), a third of Tk 9 per kg they took home a week ago.

Abu Bakkar, a farmer of Nijpara village under Birganj upazila in Dinajpur, grew brinjal, cabbage and cauliflower this year. The yield was medium, but the price upset him.

On Saturday, he sold brinjal to a trader hailing from Noakhali at Tk 3 per kg.

"The price is much lower than I had expected," he said.

Bakkar invested Tk 25,000 per bigha to cultivate the popular vegetable.

"If the price was around Tk 10, I would not have lost any money. When will the farmers earn a profit if they fail to make a profit during the peak season?" he added.

Brinjal is retailing at Tk 20 per kg at retail markets.

Bakkar's cabbage was not spared either from the declining prices.

Azizul Islam, a vegetable grower in Chehelgazi village in Dinajpur Sadar upazila, sold each cabbage for Tk 3 apiece. The price was Tk 1.5 a couple of days ago, he said.

A cabbage is being sold at Tk 10 at the local kitchen market, down from Tk 25 two weeks ago.

Potato has also seen its fair share of the price drop at the farmers' level.

Each kilogramme of potato is being sold at Tk 9 at the farmers' level. In the local market in Dinajpur, traders were seen selling the popular vegetable at Tk 15 per kg.

The only vegetable that is bringing some smiles to farmers is green chillies.

Islam said a kilogram of green chilly was sold at Tk 80, which is higher than other winter vegetables. However, not many farmers grow green chillies, he said.

He went on to say that the government took measures when the price of potato was skyrocketing towards the end of last year.

"But we are not noticing any action from the government as the price of potato is falling. With this, the government is helping consumers, not the farmers," Islam said.

Onion growers are also disappointed after the government allowed imports when the locally produced variety hit the market early January.

"The onion import could have been resumed after observing the market trend," Islam said. The best quality local onion is selling for Tk 35 per kg.

The government has been forced to allow traders to import onion after the price of the kitchen staple showed signs of heating up in the last quarter of 2020 following an Indian ban on exports in September.

A similar ban in September 2019 took the price of onion to its highest level as Bangladesh relies on imports for inadequate local supplies. 

Golam Mostafa, an onion farmer in Biral upazila, said he sold each kilogramme of onion to traders from the field at Tk 23 recently. The rate was much higher last year.

Mahbub Islam, a vegetable grower in the Sadar upazila in Nilphamari, said he did not see any solution to overcome the losses incurred during winter. The situation is the same for other growers in the area.

"Potato seeds were expensive for the farmers last year," he added.

Khandakar Md Mezbahul Islam, an agricultural expert at the additional director Office of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rangpur, said vegetable farming would be profitable if reasonable transportation was ensured for farmers.

He also blamed the middlemen for pocketing most profits.

"Farmers sell a kilogram of brinjal at Tk 3, but at the market, it is sold at Tk 20. Who is taking the rest Tk 17?" he questioned.