RAJSHAHI, Aug 9 (BSS): Commercial farming of summer tomato and beans was started at different areas of the vast barind tract including Godagari Upazila of the district in 2011. Since then, as the farmers are being benefited acreage of the summer vegetables are gradually rising every year.
According to the sources closed to the Department of Agriculture Extension, farmers have brought around 200 bigha of lands under tomato farming while 10 bigha under beans farming this year.
Meanwhile, summer tomato and beans harvesting was started in different areas in the region. Farmers are very happy over the sale-proceeds as they are getting lucrative price.
Farmers of the upazila are cultivating the cash crop and the farming has created a new avenue of earning of more money with their own efforts.
Office sources said the farmers transplanted seedlings of the non-conventional crop on two bighas of land on last week of June and subsequently they become very busy over its nursing works.
During last one week, the farmers are harvesting the crop. They said one kilogram of tomato is being sold at Taka 100 at present. Wholesalers both from Rajshahi and other parts of the country are purchasing the crop directly from the farmers' field. In this way, the farmers are getting extra benefit as they are saving transportation cost.
Rakibul Islam, a farmer of Ishwaripur village, said he had cultivated summer tomato on five katha of land in 2011 first and was financially benefited with lucrative price. But, he was affected by natural calamity in 2012 when he brought one bigha of land for the cultivation.
This time, he cultivated the crop on 10 katha of land and has so far spent Tk 20,000. He harvested 10 kiolgrams of tomato and sold those at Tk 100 per kilogram. All the plants have become full bloomed and fruits predicting bumper production.
He expects that he will earn at least Tk 0.16 million(Tk 1.50 lakh) from the 10-katha farming field.
Ahad Ali, another farmer of the same village, said he cultivated the crop on eight katha this time. He fetched Tk 1,700 from two times harvesting. He is very much optimistic that he will earn more than Tk 1.40 lakh from his farming.
Abul Kalam Azad, Assistant Upazila Agriculture Officer, said more farmers were seen showing their interest to take training on the summer tomato farming as they get more profit against less cost.
He mentioned that more than 200 farmers received training on farming of various vegetables including summer tomato and beans from the Department of Agriculture (DAE) this season.
Dr Saiful Islam, Upazila Agriculture Officer, said the summer tomato can be cultivated on all types of soil. The newly innovated summer varieties are capable to become fruit bearing in temperature above 23 degrees Celsius at night.
He, however, said special measures should be taken to protect the transplanted seedlings from inundation along with its normal growth and subsequent expected yield.
Dr Shahabuddin Ahmed, principal scientific officer of BARI, said its farming has gained momentum in different areas of the country including Jessore and the farmers are being benefited significantly.'
Referring to the salient features of the variety, he said it was tolerant to high temperature and equal to the winter varieties in size, taste and flavour and its preservation capacity was sufficient in normal temperature.
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