Early winter vegetables arrive in Bogra markets

A light mist and coolness can be felt at dawn in 12 upazilas of the district as winter, the season for growing vegetables, is approaching.

Vegetables, especially cauliflower, cabbage, bean, papaya, potato, gourd, brinjal, various types of spinach and radish, are cultivated during the winter season in the northern part of Bangladesh.

As the fields are full of vegetables from the month of Kartik for at least three months, all the markets will be full of fresh winter vegetables. Farmers and traders will earn good profit.

The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said the target is to cultivate vegetables on 12,400 hectares of land in the district, with output of 2.35 lakh tonnes of vegetables. So far, the early varieties of vegetables have been grown on 5,000 hectares, and they have already reached the markets.

Hossain Ali, a wholesale buyer of Mahasthangarh vegetable market, said cauliflower is selling at Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000 per maund, radish at Tk 800 to Tk 900, papaya at Tk 800 to Tk 1,000, chili at Tk 3,300 to Tk 3,400, cucumber at Tk 950 to Tk 1,000, bean at Tk 3,400 to Tk 3,500 per maund and cabbage at Tk 35 to Tk 45 per piece.

The high yield of early winter vegetables in the beginning of Kartrik has helped the farmers to get good profit, Hossain Ali added.

Sunil Kumar, a farmer of Chandihara village in Shibganj upazila, said it costs about Tk  15,000 to Tk 18,000 to grow cauliflower on one bigha of land and the yield is 80 to 120 maunds, which earns a profit of around Tk 1.5 lakh.

Abdul Wahed of Guzia village in Shibganj said he cultivated radish on one bigha of land spending Tk 1 lakh, and is hopeful of getting more than 100 maunds of yield.

Additional Deputy Director of Bogra DAE Abdur Rahim expressed his satisfaction over the profit earned by the farmers, who got good yield of vegetables due to favourable weather and proper monitoring, advice and field visits by DAE offcials.