Farmers in Rajshahi’s Paba upazila are busy cultivating early varieties of winter vegetables, hoping to bring their produce to market before the regular winter season and secure higher prices.
Among them is Mosharraf Hossain of Ashgram village, who has cultivated cauliflower and cabbage on 32 bighas of land this season. He has already sold vegetables from 7.5 bighas and made a profit of around Tk1.5 lakh per bigha.
During a visit to his fields in Ashgram under Damkura union on Saturday morning, Mosharraf was seen tending to his cauliflower and cabbage plants. He was putting soil around the plants, applying fertiliser and removing weeds.
Mosharraf said he cultivated the early varieties with advice and support from the Paba upazila agriculture office.
He planted around 6,000 cauliflower and cabbage plants per bigha, while his production costs were around Tk40,000–45,000 per bigha.
“There are risks in cultivating early vegetables. Around 2,000 plants per bigha can be damaged. But if we can bring the vegetables to market at the right time, we get good prices,” he said.
“Last year, I made a good profit from early vegetables. That is why I have expanded cultivation this year,” he added.
Mosharraf said he has already sold cauliflower from three bighas and cabbage from another 4.5 bighas.
The vegetables have generally sold for Tk50–70 per piece, while he received as much as Tk90 at times. After deducting production, cultivation and marketing costs, he made around Tk1.5 lakh in profit per bigha.
He has another 25 bighas under cauliflower and cabbage cultivation, which he expects to harvest within a few weeks.
Farmers say early winter vegetables can fetch better prices because their supply remains limited before the regular winter season begins.
Normally, supplies of cauliflower, cabbage, radish, carrot and other winter vegetables increase between November and January, putting downward pressure on prices.
Farmer Nazrul Islam of Alimganj has cultivated 4,000 heads of early cabbage on 12 kathas of land this season at a cost of around Tk18,000–20,000.
He has already sold 200 heads at Tk30 each. If prices remain favourable, he expects to earn around Tk1 lakh from the remaining crop, leaving him with a profit of nearly Tk80,000 after expenses.
Nazrul also cultivated tomatoes last year, earning around Tk5 lakh from five bighas of land.
This year, following advice from the agriculture department, he has cultivated an early variety of tomato on 10 kathas. The plants have already started flowering, and he expects to bring the crop to market around the middle of Ashwin.
Early vegetable cultivation is also gaining momentum in Haripur, Harian, Damkura, Parila, Bargachhi, Naohata and Paikpara areas of Paba.
Farmers are cultivating cauliflower, cabbage, beans, radish, carrot, eggplant, bitter gourd, teasel gourd, bottle gourd, red amaranth and coriander, among other vegetables.
Mizanur Rahman, a farmer from Paikpara village under Naohata municipality, has cultivated early varieties of cauliflower and cabbage on 1.5 bighas.
“I expect to bring the vegetables to market within the next 20 to 25 days,” he said.
Paba Upazila Agriculture Officer MA Mannan said the target for vegetable cultivation in the upazila this season was 1,895 hectares and that the target had already been achieved.
“A significant portion of the cultivation consists of early varieties. Farmers are selecting crops by considering market demand, production costs and possible selling prices,” he said.
“Earlier, agriculture was for survival. Now agriculture is becoming a business,” Mannan said.
He added that farmers were being encouraged to cultivate early vegetables and use bio-pesticides. They were also being advised to follow approved doses when using chemical pesticides.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has set a target of cultivating vegetables on 6,430 hectares of land across Rajshahi district this season.
DAE Rajshahi Deputy Director Mustafa Kamal Hossain said cultivation of early varieties had increased by 200 hectares compared with previous years.
With the regular winter vegetable season still weeks away, farmers in Paba are now racing against time to get their produce to market early and take advantage of potentially higher prices.