Rains to reduce vegetable yields

Vegetable farmers fear yield losses as continuous rains have affected their produce that is yet to be harvested. 

"The crops' condition does not look good. Excessive rains have ruined green chilli plants and standing water is also harming the bitter gourd and cucumber fields," said Babu Sarker, a vegetable farmer from the northwest district of Bogra.

Also plants of okra, white gourd, ridge gourd, brinjal and pointed gourd and leafy vegetables such as red amaranth have been hit by the week-long rains. As a result, the overall yield of vegetables is likely to fall, farmers said.

"Production may decline by as much as 25 percent,” a senior official of the Department of Agricultural Extension said, asking not to be named. Prolonged rains affect vegetable yield by spoiling new plants, and water logging can kill mature ones too, he said.  Farmers planted summer vegetables on 2.97 lakh hectares of land this year, up from 2.94 lakh hectares the previous year, according to the DAE.

The agriculture office aims to ensure production of 43.51 lakh tonnes of summer vegetables in the current season. Last year, it recorded production of 44.72 lakh tonnes of summer vegetables.

According to reports from 10 field offices of the DAE, 5,009 hectares of vegetable crops in seven districts, including Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, Barisal and Patuakhali, have been inundated by the incessant rains resulting from a low over the Bay of Bengal.

The total damage can be estimated only upon receiving reports from all districts, the official said.

Downpours over the last several days have damaged buds and increased the risk of pest attacks, said Torikul Islam, a farmer from the southwest district of Jessore.

The intensity of rainfall across the country is likely to come down today, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

“Light to moderate rain may continue across the country tomorrow but the overall situation will improve," an official said yesterday.

Heavy rains have been reported from some areas due to the monsoon in the last four days, said Sanaul Haque, assistant director of the met office.

"Prices of vegetables, particularly green chilli, may go up," said Rahidul Islam, a vegetable wholesaler at Mohasthan Bazar, a major vegetable wholesale depot in Bogra.

Bangladesh's farmers produce more than 1.3 crore tonnes of vegetables a year and summer vegetables account for 30 percent of the total yields, according to the DAE.