Jute farmers in Kushtia are unhappy with the produce and prices this year. Moreover, the water crisis has become a matter of great concern as the rotting and processing of raw jute are hampered.
Due to these hurdles, many farmers have lost interest in cultivating jute.
Industry insiders say that the Ukraine-Russia war has had an adverse effect on the export of jute and jute-made products. Therefore, the farmers are not getting good prices.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Kushtia, local farmers were dependent on one particular type of seed brought from India, which has not given them a good harvest this year.
Sources at the Chief Jute Inspector’s Office said that there was a target to cultivate jute on 90,000 acres of land in six upazilas in Kushtia this year, which fell short by almost 10,000 acres.
In the meantime, the farmers are currently busy on the fields, rotting their harvested jute. But due to lack of rain, they are fearing that the jute may be damaged or lose its shine if the current situation persists.
Farmer Mezbar Ali from Kumarkhali Upazila said they have to pay a labourer Tk500-600 a day on the field, and prices of equipment have gone up in recent times. They can only produce 5-6 mounds of jute on one bigha and harvesting each mound costs them over Tk2,000. The price per mound of jute is currently Tk2,000-2,500. As a result, farmers are incurring losses.
Another farmer named Asalot Sheikh said that the water bodies have dried out while others have been grabbed by fish farms. As a result, they are not getting adequate water to rot the jute. For this reason, he cultivated green chilli on his land this time.
Farmer Amjed Ali demanded higher prices for jute, saying that their produce from Kushtia is well-known around the world. If prices are raised, then the farmers will not switch to different cultivations, and more jute will be produced locally.
Additional Director of Kushtia DAE Hayat Mahmud said they are providing training to the farmers, aiming to boost jute production. Alongside this, they are providing fertilizer to farmers along with financial incentives.
He said that earlier farmers were relying on the Indian JRO-524 variety of seeds, which did not bring them luck. Now the DAE is in touch with the Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI) to use their Robi-1 variety of jute seeds.
Chief Jute Inspector Office Sohrab Uddin Biswas said they have provided incentives to 17,000 farmers this year. He admitted that jute exports were hampered due to the Ukraine-Russia war this year
