Farmers switching to okra in Batiaghata

Cultivation of okra (ladies finger), locally called dherosh, is becoming popular among the farmers in 28 villages under Batiaghata upazila of the district.
They are farming the green vegetable extensively to what they say to recoup the losses from boro paddy.
Farmers said they failed to get expected profit from boro paddy due to its low price.
Earlier, they suffered a huge loss in shrimp cultivation as the fish was affected by virus, following cyclonic storms Sidr and Aila.
Besides, production of aman paddy also did not come as expected due to excessive rain in the district.
As a result, to recover from the losses, they are now opting for okra cultivation.
Dry weather has made it possible for farmers in the 28 villages to get good yield of the vegetable. They had a harvest beyond expectation, enabling them to recover the earlier losses.
Production of okra on one acre land costs Tk 32,000 and it sells at up to Tk 1.5 lakh.
Nirmal Boiragi of Hetal Bunia village for the first time cultivated okra on his 15 katha land.
He sowed 'Sinjenta' and 'Suruchi' varieties of seeds spending about Tk 12,000 and now expects more than Tk 30,000 profit from his produce.
Teacher of BHMH High School, Gourdas Dhali said he spent Tk 32,000 to cultivate okra on one acre land.
One can easily earn Tk 1.5 lakh by cultivating the item on the land between Bangla months of Chaitra and Jaistha, he said.
Batiaghata Sadar union parishad member Sheuli Mistri said that gradually the farmers are getting interested to cultivate the vegetable instead of boro and aman.
He expressed the hope that this will generate employment opportunity for hundreds of people in the dry season.
If the farmers get bank loan, cultivation of okra will expand in the region largely, he said.
Mojibur Rahman, deputy assistant officer of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Batiaghata, said there has been an increased cultivation of okra in the district this season compared to last year's.