Md. Kamruzzaman Khan Picklu, Chitalmari, Bagerhat:
In Chitalmari, farmers are increasingly interested in cultivating jute popularly known as the golden fiber of Bangladesh. Following this, the farmers of Chitalmari Upazila of Bagerhat are dreaming of turning it around by cultivating jute.
Besides cultivating paddy and vegetables in the croplands, jute has been planted extensively this year. Farmers are hopeful that if the market price is good, they will be able to overcome the losses of the past.
Talking to local farmers, it is learned that they have cultivated jute in various cultivable and uncultivated lands of the area this season. In the past, the market price of jute was not good and the farmers had to count the losses by cultivating it. But they think that they will get the expected price as the jute market is good this year.
Paddy, vegetables, sugarcane and jute have been planted extensively in the lands of the awakened chars of Baleshwar and Madhumati rivers flowing along the border of the upazila.
The wind is swaying across the jute fields. As far as the eye can see now is just the display of green fields of jute. Farmers of the area are busy working in these fields. Many are also busy arranging the process of extracting jute from the land in different water bodies like rivers, canals and ditches.
Many jute farmers said that although there are some problems in cultivating jute seeds this year due to drought, the market price is quite high. At present, jute is being sold for Tk. 7,000 to Tk. 8,000 per maund. If there is no drop of price in the jute market, they will be able to see the face of profit. They also expressed hope that they would get more money by selling chalk than jute.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Rituraj Sarkar said that jute has been planted in a total of 1,100 hectares of land in the upazila this year. Indian Bankim, BGR I-6, IRO 597 and indigenous varieties of jute have been cultivated. These farmers have been given advices and seeds and fertilizers for jute cultivation from the Agriculture Office, he said.
