Bitter gourd brings sweet smile to farmers

Bitter gourd traders from across the country are converging on Thakurgaon these days: gourd yields are high and prices are healthy; the weather has been kind. Local farmers too cannot help but smile.

“I cultivated bitter gourd on 75 decimals, with expenditures amounting to around Tk 50,000,” says farmer Nipendranath Barman, 32, from Dakkhin Bathina village in sadar upazila. “Already I've sold 73 maunds of the crop for Tk 92,000. I expect to earn another Tk 1 lakh in the next six weeks as harvest continues.”

Nipendranath sowed his crop early this year, a move that has proved beneficial. “Bitter gourds are usually a crop planted at the end of the monsoon as the water recedes,” he says, “but I started in the last week of July to maximise profits. After only 40 days the first gourds were ready, with a favourable selling rate of up to Tk 1,400 per maund.”

The farmer says he has been cultivating bitter gourd for the past five years. “Last year I made Tk 1.7 lakhs in profit from bitter gourd on the same land; such profits are not possible growing a more traditional crop.”

Meanwhile Komola Kanta Barman, 35, a farmer from neighbouring Akcha village is similarly pleased with his bitter gourd success. “To grow the gourds on 25 decimals I spent Tk 15,000,” he says. “So far I have sold 6 maunds of gourd at Tk 1,400 per maund. Usually gourds can be picked twice a week until November. I hope for good profits this year.”

Vegetable trader Md Bablu, 45, from Awliapur village in Thakurgaon sadar upazila says he has been buying bitter since the first week of September to supply to distant markets including Dhaka's Karwan Bazar and Nimsa Bazar in Comilla. “The purchase rate from a farmer's field is about Tk 1,400 per maund, which means if I sell 100 maunds in city markets I make a profit of between Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000,” he says.

According to the department of agriculture extension, Thakurgaon famers have cultivated vegetables on 4,601 hectares this season, with 310 hectares devoted to bitter gourd.

“Early winter vegetables like bitter gourd are giving farmers a good return,” says department of agriculture extension's resident deputy director, Arshed Ali. “For this reason farmers are showing more interest and bitter gourd cultivation is gradually increasing in the district.”

“Besides, this year the weather has been favourable and the supply of seeds and fertiliser smooth,” he adds.