UNB, Thakurgaon :
Maize farmers in Thakurgaon district are not getting fair price of their produce due to its low demand.
Maize is grown twice in a year-once in the Rabi season and again in the Kharip-1 season.
The item grown from October 16 to March 15 is termed the Rabi maize and which is produced from March 16 to July 15 is termed as the Kharip-1 maize.
Harvesting of Rabi maize ends in the month of March and harvesting of Kharip-1 maize is now about to end.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), maize was cultivated on 18,800 hectares of land in the Rabi season and in the Kharip-1 season, it was cultivated on 15,270 hectares of land.
The production target was set at 1,55,199 tonnes in the Rabi season and 71,565 tonnes in the Kharip-1 season.
Deputy director of the district DAE Arshed Ali said in the Rabi season the production target was fulfilled and he hoped that in the Kharip-1 season also the target would be fulfilled.
Although the production was satisfactory, the price is not so good.
Ramesh Chandra Roy, a maize farmer of Dakshin Batina village under Thakurgaon sadar upazila, said in the Kharip-1 season, he cultivated maize on 0.25 decimal land and got an yield of 20 maunds (40 kg a maund).
His production cost (including his own labour, ploughing, seed, fertiliser, irrigation and harvesting) was Tk 5,500 in 0.25 decimal.
But after selling the produce at
Tk310 per maund, he got only Tk 6,200.
So, his net profit was only Tk 700 in 0.25 decimal land.
Last year, the price of maize was Tk 550 to 600 per maund.
Here in Thakurgaon district the main buyer of maize is Kazi Farm, the biggest poultry farm of the country.
They have a feed mill at Thakurgaon where they produce poultry feed.
Maize suppliers of different districts supplied maize to the feed mill of Kazi Farms in the previous years.
But as the mill stopped production this year, they are not purchasing maize.
For the last 6 months due to labour unrest they have kept production activities stopped.
As they are not purchasing maize, the price has fallen as well.
Besides poultry feed, the other uses of maize are in making different bakery items. For making bakery items, small amount of maize is required because the number of bakeries in the district is few.
At present, the big traders are purchasing maize at throwaway prices and after drying, they are keeping it in their warehouses.
When the demand and price would rise, they will sell it and thus would make huge profit.
