When the government had stopped supplying of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and incentives in tobacco farming for past couple of years for a healthy Bangladesh and reduce the globally recognized health hazards throughout the country, the area of tobacco farming has been alarmingly increasing in Jhenaidah. The farmers of six Jhenaidah upazilas had brought almost double land under the farming in a year. They brought 251 hectares of land in the season as against last season’s 160 hectares.
The officials of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jashore have been blaming the tobacco industries (TIs) when the farmers were leaning towards tobacco farming once again.
When the Roving Correspondent had visited a number of villages in Jhenaidah Sadar, Shailkupa and Harinakundu upazilas and talked to a number of farmers involved in tobacco farming, came to know that the advices from the DAE sector was mare a cry to the farmers. Farmer Sanaruddin, 52, of village Arjanarayanpur in Jhenaidah Sadar upazila said he expanded his tobacco farming area to 46 decimals as against last season’s 28 decimals. Many farmers like Sanaruddin had expanded the tobacco framing area in the season, he said. According to the farmer, Tobacco farming is the most profitable crop to a farmers as it ensures at least Taka 50 to 55 thousand excluding all expenses like fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation and day labourer.
Another tobacco farmer Baharul Islam of the area said he reduced the farming partially when he was not in a position manage the huge tract of tobacco land himself.
The farmers said the tobacco company men involved in producing cigarettes supplying them adequate chemical fertilizers, pesticides and hand over cash in advance for irrigation, day labourer and other farming purposes. They repay the money when they sale the tobacco to them at the end of the season. Here each and every farmer is benefitted 50 to 55 thousand excluding all expenses, Sanarudduin added.
According to DAE Jhenaidah Khamarbari deputy director’s office, the farmers of the district brought 160 hectares of land under tobacco farming and produced 357 tons of tobacco leaf. The average yield of the leaf was 2.23 tons on each hectare. But the farmers had expanded their land to 251 hectares and going to harvest 560 tones in the season. It was almost double than the last season.
Acting additional director of the DAE in Jashore regional office Manjurul Haque when contacted admitted the alarming tobacco farming area expansion said the farmers cannot ignore their financial benefit when the tobacco industries have been providing fertilizer, pesticide and cash to the farmers and realizing the same at the end of the harvesting from their sale proceeds. Here the DAE advice is not entering in to ears of the farmers involved in tobacco farming.
Acting additional director added that they have been motivating the farmers to avoid tobacco and cultivate alternative profitable crops on their lands. Huge incentives have been distributed among the farmers every year.
They had distributed incentives among one lakh farmers in the last year in Jashore district. The amount might be increased in the next that the government was considering to strengthen socio-economic state of the farmers, Manajurul Haque added.