Maize farmers call for storage, processing facilities

Lalmonirhat district, bordering the Teesta, Dharla and Saniazan rivers, accounts for about one-third of the maize produced in Bangladesh's northern region.

More than 20,000 families, mostly based in the district's char areas, have achieved both food and financial security by growing maize, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

But farmers said they would have gotten better prices for their produce had there been storage and processing facilities in the region.

Maize was cultivated on a record 34,440 hectares of land across the five upazilas of Lalmonirhat this year, up from 30,150 hectares in 2020, resulting in a yield of 335,000 tonnes of the cereal grain.

Besides, of the total one lakh hectares of land in the country's northern region brought under maize cultivation this year, Lalmonirhat contributed a majority of roughly 34 per cent.

When maize cultivation first began in the district in 1995, only 150 hectares of land was used.

"I cultivated maize on just half a bigha of land back then," said Mafir Uddin, a farmer based in the Char Dawabari area by the ​​Teesta river in Lalmonirhat's Hatibandha upazila.

This year though, the 67-year-old farmer cultivated the crop on 16 bighas of land.

"Since farmers usually get their expected yields while production costs are comparatively low, maize is considered a highly profitable crop," he added.

Nazrul Islam, a farmer in the Char Gaddimari area of the same upazila, told this correspondent that he started growing maize back in 2010 on a small plot of land but has since expanded cultivation to about 20 bighas.

Each bigha produces about 33 to 40 maunds of maize at a cost of about Tk 6,000 to Tk 7,000.

"Maize cultivation in the sandy soils of char areas is getting better as less irrigation water is required for the crop," Islam said, adding that maize cultivation has changed the fortunes of farmers in Teesta's char areas.

According to various farmers, each maund (around 37 kilogrammes) of maize sold for around Tk 700 to Tk 800 during the May-June harvesting period but the price shot up to Tk 1,050 to Tk 1,200 just two or three months later.

As a result, traders who purchased maize directly from farmers during the harvesting period benefitted greatly.

Considering this lost opportunity, farmers in Lalmonirhat said they too could have enjoyed this benefit had the proper storage facilities been available.

They went on to say that representatives of various feed companies and local buyers purchase maize directly from the farms at fair prices, going as far as to pay in advance in many cases.

"So, we have been demanding a maize processing centre in the area but to no avail," said Aftab Uddin, a farmer based in the Kalmati char area of Lalmonirhat sadar upazila.

"If the government fulfils our demand, it will give us the scope to earn more from the crop," he added.

Mahirul Islam, a representative of a feed company, told The Daily Star that about 40 lakh tonnes of maize were produced in the country each year.

However, Bangladesh annually imports a further 18 tonnes to 20 tonnes of the grain to meet domestic demand.

"Against this backdrop, local maize cultivation is increasing day by day and in the next two to three years, it could be possible for the country to become self-sufficient in this regard," Islam said.

Shamim Ashraf, deputy director of the DAE office in Lalmonirhat, said a majority of the district's maize cultivation takes place in char areas.

Farmers can earn between Tk 13,000 to Tk 15,000 by cultivating maize on one bigha of land, providing them an opportunity to become solvent with relatively low investment compared to other crops.

"The DAE provides farmers with good seeds and advice on how to properly grow maize, which has become a Lalmonirhat's crop brand," Ashraf said.

Besides, a letter seeking permission to build a local maize processing centre has already been sent to the ministry concerned through the district administration, he added.

Abu Jafor, deputy commissioner of Lalmonirhat, said char farmers in the region have greatly benefitted from maize cultivation.

"So, we are talking to the ministry concerned for building a maize processing centre here and if this demand is met soon, it will make a lot more farmers interested in cultivating the crop," he added.