Nirmal Sarker, Bera
The jute farmers of Bera upazila in Pabna are very happy over bumper yield. Farmers in this region are becoming interested in jute cultivation as it is profitable.
Jute cultivation on the banks of the river Jamuna-Padma was severely affected by the severe long-term floods. Farmers could not collect jute as the jute was submerged under water.
Demand and price of jute has increased as jute cultivation has suffered due to excessive floods in the jute-rich areas of the northern part of the country. The country's raw jute exporting companies have a special demand for good quality jute.
Apart from this, there are about 10 small and big private jute exporting jute purchasing centres. Jute exporting companies buy good and high-quality jute fiber from the hat bazaars of Bera and other adjoining upazilas. Mahbub Alam, Regional Jute Purchasing Officer of Janata Jute Trading, said that there is a demand for good jute fiber in the haat bazaars of Bera area as it is not possible to procure good jute fiber from different parts of the country as expected.
The farmers of Bera upazila were at one time completely dependent on jute cultivation. The quality of the crop land of the upazila is suitable for cultivation of all types of crops. The water of the river Jamuna, which carries silt from upstream during the monsoon season, makes the soil in the Bera area more fertile. Although many areas of the Bera are not flooded due to the flood control dam of the Pabna project, thousands of hectares of crop lands along the banks of the Jamuna Padma outside the flood control dam are being flooded every year and nature is making the land more fertile.
Asian jute-producing countries are under extreme threat as some developed countries of the world produce alternative fibres of jute fibre and market them in the world market. As there is no demand for jute fibre in the world market, the production of jute in the jute producing countries has reached the lowest level.
Farmers lost interest in cultivating jute on their land as there was no price for jute in the local market. As the use of alternative fibres poses a threat to the global environment, the developed world is becoming more interested in using environmentally friendly natural jute fibres instead of using alternative fibres. Jute is going to regain its lost glory in the world market. As the demand for jute fibre increases in the world market, the jute farmers of Bangladesh are becoming interested in jute cultivation.
Bera Upazila Agriculture Officer Mohammad Mushkar Ali said farmers in Bera Upazila had cultivated jute in 2,610 hectares of land this season. Jute was cultivated in 2,440 hectares of land in Bera upazila last season. This time jute has been cultivated in 170 hectares more land than last season.
The jute farmers who came to sell jute at the market are all happy with the production of jute and getting the desired price of jute in the market. Everyone has expressed satisfaction with the price of jute in the market. Depending on the type, they are able to sell jute to the hawkers at a price of Tk 2,200 to Tk 2,400.