Fate of many farmers in Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district has changed by vegetable seed production. Production of vegetable seed has changed the picture of rural economy. At one time their farming was limited to Boro and Aman cultivation as well as some conventional vegetable cultivation. But now the farmers are earning lakhs of Tk by cultivating different varieties of red spinach in a modern way and producing seeds from it. The huge success in modern production of red spinach seeds in paddy fields has brought smiles on the faces of the farmers in the region. Vegetable seed production has now become very popular among the farmers. The farmers here are getting involved in vegetable seed production every year as they can get more profit with less capital in a short period of time. Due to this there has been a silent revolution in the production of vegetable seeds in the upazila.
According to the Jibannagar Upazila Agriculture Office, high yielding varieties of red spinach have been planted in 237 hectares in Abdulbaria, Dehati, Kashipur, Anantapur, Nishchintapur, Purandapur, Banka and Muktarpur villages of the upazila this season. From this 560 metric tons of seeds will be produced. And by selling the produced seeds, the farmers will get 8 crore 53 lakh Tk.
It is eye-catching to see a spectacular view of red spinach in the remote areas of the upazila and it seems that the fields of the area are covered with a red covering on the green chest.
Shukur Ali, a successful vegetable grower from Andulbaria village, said that he first started producing vegetable seeds in the area 15 years ago. In that year he sold the seeds produced on one bigha of land at a cost of Tk 15000 Tk. As a result, he increased the amount of land in the following year. This year he has planted vegetables in 5 bighas of land and from that he will produce 40 maunds seeds. He hopes to be able to sell the seeds produced on 5 bighas of land for two lakh 40 thousand Tk.
He said that the land is made suitable for vegetable cultivation by mowing the land and applying fertilizer in the end of fall season. Seedlings germinate in 10 to 15 days after sowing. At the end of 4 months, seeds are collected by cutting down trees from the land and 6 to 7 maunds of seeds are produced in Pratibigha land. From land preparation to seed collection, the cost per acre of land is 8 to 10 thousand Tk. And the produced seeds are sold from 35 thousand to 48 thousand Tk. After deducting all the expenses, the profit per bigha of land is 25 thousand to 40 thousand Tk.
Shukur Ali is not alone. The correspondent saw that many farmers have started producing seeds from cultivating vegetables. Thus gradually they have chosen to produce vegetable seeds as a means of livelihood. Already thousands of farmers in Abdulbaria, Dehati, Kashipur, Anantapur, Nishchintpur, Purandapur, Banka and Muktarpur villages of the upazila have changed their destiny by producing vegetable seeds.
According to the farmers, the rent of land suitable for vegetable cultivation has increased at present. In addition, due to the increase in the price of various agricultural inputs, production costs are becoming a bit higher.
Jibannagar Upazila Agriculture Officer Sharmin Akhter said the lands in Andulbaria area of the upazila are more suitable for vegetable cultivation. The farmers here are also quite experienced in vegetable cultivation. Due to this the farmers of the area have brought new impetus in the rural economy by cultivating vegetables under advanced agricultural technology.