Our Correspondent :
Farmers in Hossainpur of Kishoreganj are worried that they will not get the desired price despite good yield of potato this season. On Tuesday morning, different areas of the upazila were visited, no land was fallow. Farmers in the vast lands are busy picking potatoes.
According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, 100 to 110 metric tons of potatoes are produced in each bigha of land with good yield of Astoris and Diamond varieties.
Amir Hamza, a potato farmer from Charjamail village in Araibaria union of the upazila, said a total of Tk 40,000 including potato seeds and medicine were spent on two bighas of land. But I am worried about the low price of potatoes.
Being forced to sell potatoes at a price of Tk 350, I am paying the wages and some debts of the workers. He said if the price of potatoes does not increase, all the potatoes will be kept in cold storage.
Sirajul Haque, Chairman of Sidla Union Parishad of the upazila, said, “I have cultivated potatoes in about 30 bighas of land on the advice of the upazila agriculture office.”
Potato harvesting has started. However, if there is no price for potatoes, the loss will have to be counted. If the government gives the opportunity to export potatoes abroad, then potato growers will not have to count the losses.
Agriculture official ImrulKayes said the amount of potato cultivated in the upazila this year is double that of last year. Due to favorable weather, the yield has also increased by 15 to 20 percent compared to last year.
In the current situation, the price of potatoes is a little lower. However, in order not to incur any loss, efforts are being made to export potatoes. Hopefully, in the next one to one and a half months, the price of potatoes will go up and farmers will benefit.
