Jhenaidah jute farmers’ hopes dashed by extreme weather

Jute farmers of Jhenaidah are anticipating tough times ahead as hostile weather including torrential rain seriously hampers their production.

According to the District Agriculture Extension (DAE), jute has been planted on 22,450 hectares of land in six upazilas of the district this year of which 70% have already been harvested.

Of these, 5,220 hectares are in Sadar upazila, 1,600 hectares in Kaliganj, 820 hectares in Kotchandpur, 3,210 hectares in Maheshpur, 7,950 hectares in Shailkupa and 3,650 hectares in Harinakundu.

Corresponding to the cultivation area target, the production target for jute has been set at 51,496 metric tons. Although the target of jute cultivation has been met, the same cannot be said about the production target.

Local farmers said the yield did not meet their expectations due to excessive rainfall when the jute was growing.

Ruhul Amin, a jute farmer from Uttar Mirzapur village in Shailkupa upazila, said jute seedlings initially grew well after seeds were planted, but slowed down when excessive rain caused roots to take hold. 

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Sabuj Mia, a farmer hailing from Samanta village in Maheshpur upazila, said he planted jute on three bighas of land in 2020 but was forced to plant other crops in one of those bighas after a while due to poor growth.

“The yield of jute in the other two bighas of land was poor as well,” he added.

Jute farmer Alim Uddin from Pabhati village in Sadar Upazila, said he planted jute on one bigha of land this year which cost him Tk34,000 altogether.

“I’m expecting 13 to 14 maunds of jute from 22 kathas of land which may be sold at a current market price of Tk28,000 and jute sticks will be sold for Tk5,000. Overall, my loss will be Tk1,000,” he said.

Although the price of jute in the market is Tk1600 to Tk2000 per maund (1 maund = 37.5kg), the farmers are losing money due to poor production, said Rashed Mollah, a jute farmer from Bhatai village in Shailkupa upazila. 

DAE Deputy Director Kripangshu Shekhar Biswas said, "Although the planting target has been achieved, the production target is not being met."

He noted that the government will help affected farmers under various incentives to overcome their losses.