Jute has had a bumper harvest this season in Ghoraghat, Dinajpur. Farmers say yields are good thanks to favourable weather, rain and enough moisture in the soil, and they are pleased with this year’s prices, which have brought them relief.
According to the upazila agriculture office, farmers grew local tossa jute on 150 hectares across one municipality and four unions. The average yield is put at 11.9 bales a hectare, against 10.6 last year, when 125 hectares were planted.
Farmers are busy cutting, retting, stripping and drying jute, and many are already selling at market. “Last year I sold jute at Tk 1,500 to 2,000 a maund. This year I have sold it at Tk 3,500 to 4,000,” said Harunur Rashid of Kalupara village.
Across the upazila’s unions, jute has been cut and bundled in wide fields; in places farmers are retting bundles in water, and elsewhere preparing to strip and dry the fibre. Farmers say that although jute costs more to grow than other crops, the good yield this year should cover the costs and leave a profit.
“The jute is very good this year, with good plant height and fibre quality. We are happy with the yield. If we get good prices at market, jute farming can be profitable,” said one farmer. “Labour costs for cutting, retting and stripping are high, but with the good yield I hope there will be some profit left after costs,” said another.
Upazila agriculture officer Mohammad Rafiquzzaman said the weather this season was very favourable for jute, giving good yields in many areas, and farmers are being advised on the right time to cut, how to ret and how to keep fibre quality high.
Farmers say that sustaining bumper harvests will need better-quality seed, lower production costs and stable, fair market prices, which would help expand jute farming in Ghoraghat, and they are demanding fair prices alongside higher production.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report