Magura farmers lose interest in Aman farming

Magura, Sept 13: The farmers of the district are losing interest in Aman cultivation due to various reasons, including high price of seedlings.
Even though it is high time to transplant seedlings, Aman farming is facing a setback in the district due to high price of seedlings, rise in labourers' wage, fall in Aman paddy price and frequent power outages.  
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials informed that a total of 56,576 hectares of land have been brought into Aman cultivation in the district this season as against 59,553 hectares of land last year. Aman cultivation in the district has decreased by about 3,000 hectares.
Taleb Sheikh, a farmer of Beroil village in Sadar upazila, said this year Aman seedlings are being sold in the local market at Tk 5 per bundle as against Tk 2 last year. Moreover, the farmers have to pay a labourer minimum Tk 450 as wage while it ranged between Tk 380 and Tk 450 last year. "In such a situation, I have decided not to cultivate Aman during this season," he said.  
Baizid Alam, another farmer of Jagla village in Sadar upazila, said he sold Aman paddy at Tk 600 per maund last year. "It did not cover my production cost. So, I have not cultivated Aman this year."   
Abdur Razzak, an Aman cultivator of Jagdal village in Sadar upazila, said at present, they were experiencing heavy load-shedding. "Every day we face load-shedding for 8 to 10 hours. Power cuts increase our production cost as we use diesel pump as an alternative."
He added: "Production cost of Aman paddy is increasing day by day. But the price of Aman paddy is decreasing day by day. So, farmers are losing interest in cultivating Aman paddy."
When contacted, Noabul Alam, an official of Magura DAE, told the FE that as the prices of vegetables are now high in the market, many farmers in the district are growing winter vegetables to earn handsome profits.
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