Poor Production in Godagari
Tomato growers blame low quality seeds
Growers put into sacks early variety tomato at Rajabari in Godagari upazila of Rajshahi district yesterday. Harvest of the popular vegetable, however, fails to make farmers happy as the production has suffered a downfall allegedly due to supply of low quality seeds by a company.Photo: STAR
Tomato growers of Godagari in Rajshahi have demand compensation for losses they suffered from 'low quality' seed and consequent poor output. They held a rally at the upazila headquarters on Tuesday and then submitted a memorandum to the prime minister through the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO). The farmers alleged that Sobol F1 tomato seed, marketed by Syngenta Bangladesh, was not of good quality, resulted in its poor yield. Rezwanul Karim, a marketing officer of Syngenta said, "We provided good seed, but winter came late. Many farmers, in the hope of maximising profit, cultivated tomato two months earlier than the proper time." Godagari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Zulia Moyeen assured the farmers of taking action against the persons responsible for supply of low quality seed. "A five-member committee, headed by upazila DAE (Department of Agriculture Extension) Officer Dr Saiful Islam, has already started investigating the allegation," he said. Dr Saiful Islam said some farmers got 50 percent of the expected yield while some others got only 25 percent or less this year. Ashim Kumar Paul, deputy director (DD) of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi, however, said time has not yet come to declare a low yield. “Winter is yet to set in and tomato plants are likely to bear fruit when temperature dips", the DD added. Ratan Mia, a buyer from Shariatpur said, "I used to send two to three truckloads of tomato to Dhaka everyday this time in the previous years. This year, it is difficult to buy even one truckload of the fruit daily." Local lawmaker Omar Faruk Chowdhury said the upazila administration is investigating the matter and action will be taken on the basis of probe report. "Seventy percent of tomato is supplied from Godagari. So, the government is committed to protect the interest of the tomato growers," the lawmaker added.
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