JHENIDAH, Aug 21: Jhenidah jute farmers are disappointed with the low market price of their produced crop.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Jhenidah set a target to bring 22,895 hectares of land under jute cultivation in the district in FY 2019-20. However, farmers cultivated jute on 20,425 hectares in six upazilas.
Farmers have already started harvesting the golden fibre. But a good number of jute farmers said that they were frustrated as the market price of as they could not recoup their production cost.
Jute is being sold at the local markets for Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,500 per maund, depending on its quality and colour.
The prices would further decrease by the time jute harvest will end, farmers said.
Though now it is at the end of the rainy season, water bodies of the district including the rivers and canals did not have adequate water. So, farmers find it difficult to rot jute.
They are being forced to set huge amount of jute to rot in a small space. This is how the quality and the colour of the fibre are becoming low-graded.
Moreover, farmers are yet to harvest jute in full swing in time to come. Then the colour of jute would be of worse here, some farmers said.
Raju Mia, a farmer of Mandarbaria village under Kalicharanpur union of Sadar upazila said it was difficult to rot jute as there no water in the newly-dug canals.
Besides, the water where jute is being rotten is becoming polluted, endangering different fish species.
Deputy Director of DAE, Jhenidah Mohammed Abdur Rouf said, "If farmers use technologies properly in cultivating jute, their yield will increase resulting in less production cost."
He added that farmers have to follow line-logo method, apply balanced fertilizer and maintain intercultural operation to enhance their production.
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