Sugarcane cultivation is gradually gaining popularity in Madaripur, as the farmers made high profits in the last couple of years with good yields of the crop.
Different varieties of the crop, which has high demand across the country, are being cultivated in 678 hectares of land in the four Upazilas under the district, said the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Madaripur.
580 hectares of land was cultivated last year.
“Sugarcane cultivation is on the rise in Madaripur. The soil and weather of the area is suitable for cultivation of different varieties of sugarcane,” said GMA Gafur, deputy director of Madaripur DAE.
He said farmers are being more interested in farming sugarcane now due to lower production costs, and higher profit when compared to any other crops here, including paddy and jute.
“We are inspiring farmers to cultivate the crop,” added Gafur, saying that the government, however, has no project especially for sugarcane there.
Locals said the situation was different just five years ago. Traders were used to bring sugarcane from other districts, and sell those in local markets in Madaripur.
But now, the crops are being cultivated in every village of the district. Besides, after meeting the local demand, sugarcane is being sold to other parts of the country.
Sugarcane farmer Nashu Bepari said they were inspired through other farmers, who made higher profit last year, harvesting the crops instead of paddy or jute.
“I cultivated sugarcane on some of my land this year, and made a satisfactory profit,” he said, adding that he would cultivate the crop on his other lands immediately after harvesting paddy.
There is high profit but comparatively low costs in sugarcane farming, he added.
Bipul Bala, another farmer from Kolagachia village, said he cultivated sugarcane on 60 decimals of land, and is expecting at least two lakh taka profits after all expenditures.
“I took some land on lease for the sugarcane farming,” he said.
Another farmer Alam Khan said that he invested about one lakh taka in cultivating eight lakh pieces of sugarcane.
“Some buyers came, and offered about TK250,000. But, I am waiting for TK300,000,” Alam added.
They however said if the government supports them with high yielding seeds and fertilizers, they can do even better.
The farmers said sugarcane farming does not need fertilizers, and pesticides but requires irrigation at least three times during a cultivation season. Besides, labor cost is very low.
After the harvesting, they can farm mustard, pulse, and some other crops, which cannot be cultivated with paddy or jute.