TANGAIL, Aug 18: Bumper production of jute has brought smiles on the faces of farmers in the district this year as they are making good profit selling their produce at high prices.
Official sources said farmers in all 12 upazilas of the district got bumper production of the golden fibre in the current season.
The growers attributed the good yield of jute to easy rotting process.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Tangail provided the jute growers with quality seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and other necessary inputs and training, to help them yield a good result from cultivation.
A jute grower named Hasan Ali (45) of Baruha village in Sadar upazila said he cultivated jute on his two hectares of land and the production was satisfactory.
Adequate supply of agricultural inputs and congenial weather condition helped him get a bumper production.
Atowar Hossain (60), a farmer of Gomjani village in Delduar upazila of the district, said " I've cultivated jute on my 65 decimals of land spending Tk10,000 and expect to earn Tk35,000 as profit, due to good market price and bumper production of the crop in the current season."
In the district's local markets, one maund of good quality jute is being sold at Tk 2300 to Tk 2400 while low quality jute is being sold at TK 2000 to Tk 2200 per maund.
Growers in the district are happy with the price, because it has been the best in recent years, jute trader Moyez Uddin of Mamudpur in Delduar upazila said.
DAE official sources quoting local growers said though flood caused huge damage to many things in the district, rotting process of jute was easiest this year making good production possible.
In the current season, growers rotted their jute in the fields and that is why labour cost was low and profit consequently went up.
Sub- assistant of DAE Tangail Nargis Akhter said soil and weather are suitable for the farming of jute in the area.
Many of the farmers here have become self-reliant by producing this leading export item, she added.
According to the DAE, farmers of the district brought a total of 16,020 hectares of land under jute cultivation in the current season.
Last year, farmers cultivated jute on 14,000 hectares of land in the district.
After finding jute cultivation more profitable, the farmers are getting more interested to cultivate it than paddy or any other crop, she added.
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