Low price of lady\\\'s finger disappoints Pabna farmers

PABNA, May 13: A bumper production of lady's finger that brought smile among the farmers in Ishwardi as well as Pabna in early summer now disappointed then over the low price of the vegetable in the market.
"In the early summer season each maund of lady's finger used to sell at Tk 1,500 to 1,700 now each maund is sold at Tk 250 to Tk 300. Drastic fall of price is hardly to bring profit." Aminur Rahman Babu, a farmer of Muladuli village said.
Ishwardi upazila agriculture officer. Khurshid Alam said a total of 5 hundred hectares were brought under lady's finger cultivation this year expecting to produce 5,500 metric tonnes but the production may cross 7000 metric tonnes this year.
"Due to suitable weather farmers got a bumper production of lady's finger this year." Khurshid added.
Visiting the lady's finger cultivation areas in Ishwardi upazila this correspondent found the farmers lamenting over the bumper production causing poor market price.
"I have cultivated lady's finger in five big has of land at a cost of Tk 75 thousand and produced 380 maunds of the vegetable expecting to earn Tk. 0.1 million (one lakh)", Rabiul Alam, a lady's finger farmer of Muladuli village told this correspondent.
In last year I have cultivated lady's finger earning Tk 20 thousand profit which inspired me to cultivate more areas of lady's finger. But the bumper production this year could not bring the expected profit due to drastic fall in price, he added.
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