A plunge in the prices of winter crops like tomatoes, potatoes and cauliflowers, has pushed farmers in the north into a dire situation, as they are incurring heavy losses this season due to the price fall.
The farmers have attributed the losses to a plunge in the prices of their produce and high production costs.
Landless farmer Ismail Haque sold his cow and invested Tk 80,000 into tomato farming, hoping for a profit.
But his hope was shattered when he had to destroy his produce out of frustration due to a sudden and steep fall in the prices of winter vegetables.
鈥業 leased 41 decimals of land and cultivated tomatoes, but I could only get Tk聽40,000 by selling the crop when the price was somewhat reasonable,鈥� Ismail said, adding, 鈥極ut of frustration, I cut down the rest of the tomato plants and buried them underground after traders offered just Tk聽5 a kilogram amid the sudden price fall.鈥�
As agriculture is his only livelihood, Ismail said that he was now considering taking a loan from a non-governmental organisation to cultivate paddy to recover the losses.
Like Ismail, thousands of farmers from northern Bangladesh, who invested in winter crops like tomatoes, potatoes and cauliflowers, are incurring heavy losses this season due to the drastic price drop.
Raju Ahmed, a farmer from Baragachihat village in Chapainawabganj, said that he cultivated tomatoes in 53 decimals of leased land. However, he could only sell the harvest for Tk聽43,500, far below the production costs of Tk 1.2 lakh.
Munjur Rahman, a potato grower at Tanore upazila in Rajshahi, said that potato prices had been declining steadily at the growers鈥� level.
鈥楶otatoes that sold for Tk 20鈥�22 a kilogram just a week ago are now being sold for Tk 13 a kilogram, even though production costs exceeded Tk 35 a kilogram,鈥� Munjur said.
Abdul Wadud, an economics professor at the Rajshahi University, attributed the crisis to several factors, including inflation, dominance of intermediaries in the supply chain, inadequate government monitoring, lack of farmer-friendly policies and the absence of proper storage facilities for perishable crops.
鈥楾he government must act to ensure fair markets, improve market connectivity, establish cold storage facilities and offer affordable loans to farmers. Failure to address these issues could impact the country鈥檚 food security,鈥� he warned.
Md Arif of Vobanipur village at Paba upazila expressed his despair. In the past year, he made Tk聽50,000 in profits by growing brinjal and beans on two bighas of land.
鈥楾his year, I might not even cover the production costs due to the price drop,鈥� he lamented.
Soikot Mondal from Hariyan village had no choice but to destroy his cauliflower crop. 鈥業t costs Tk聽80 to harvest and transport a maund (40 kilograms) of cauliflower to the Kharkhari wholesale market, but the price for one maund here is just Tk聽60,鈥� Soikot said.
After visiting Kharkhari Bazar, one of Rajshahi鈥檚 largest wholesale vegetable markets, on Friday, it was seen that cauliflowers being sold for Tk 3鈥�5 a kilogram, radishes at Tk聽5 a kilogram, cabbage for Tk聽10, brinjals at Tk聽10鈥�15 a kilogram, tomatoes and potatoes at Tk聽13鈥�15 a kilogram, beans at Tk聽15 a kilogram and onions at Tk聽30 a kilogram.
On the retail markets, the prices of the vegetables were up to Tk聽40 a kilogram.
The Department of Agricultural Extension data, however, showed that the winter crop cultivation in the Rajshahi region 鈥� comprising Rajshahi, Natore, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj 鈥� has actually decreased this season.
According to DAE statistics, winter crops were cultivated on 39,635 hectares of land this year compared with 40,708 hectares past year.
Motaleb Hossain, acting additional director of the Rajshahi divisional DAE, said that the situation was baffling.
鈥楾he fall in winter crop prices is unexpected, and we are unable to pinpoint the exact cause,鈥� he said.
