Good days for Jhenidah gourd growers
Bumper yield and fair prices have delighted gourd growers in Kotchandpur upazila.
Upazila agriculture office sources said around 100 farmers are cultivating gourd on their plots at four villages.
Talina, Ekra, Jalalpur and Ghagha are the most gourd producing villages in the upazila.
While talking to the farmers at Talina village they said this farming is very profitable than traditional crops like paddy. If the weather is favourable, the growers can harvest up to March next year.
They can sell at Tk 80 to Tk 90 thousand from one bigha. Tk 15 to Tk 20 thousand is spent for cultivation of per bigha.
Motiar Rahman of Talina village said he has been farming this vegetable for over a decade.
He did not incur loss during this long period, said Motiar.
In the middle of September this year, he has cultivated gourd on 20 decimals of land spending Tk 15,000, said Motiar.
He expects that he will harvest up to March and sell at Tk 60,000.
Another farmer Rabiul Islam of the same village said he has been farming gourd for ten years. He got a profit of Tk one lakh from 45 decimals of land last year.
He has cultivated the vegetable on 66 decimals of land this year, said Rabiul, adding that if the weather is favourable, he will sell at Tk 1.50 lakh.
Upazila Sub-assistant Agriculture Officer Mahmudur Rahman said he often visits the plots of the farmers and advises them to use pheromone trap to avoid food fly.
He also forbids the gourd growers to use insecticide so that they can lead sound health, said Mahmudur.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Sheikh Sazzad Hossain said the soil of the villages is very suitable for gourd farming. Every year the farmers grow gourd and earn a lot.
“We always keep vigilance on the farmers so that the latter can get bumper production,” he said.
Comments