Cultivation of summer tomato is getting popular in the outskirts of the city and at the upazilas of Rajshahi during the recent years.
In the upazilas of Tanore, Godagari, Mohanpur, Paba and the Naodapara of the city, farmers are cultivating summer tomato in raised beds and by preparing sheds with bamboo and polythene.
According to sources, the summer tomato cultivation requires a huge effort and cost. For preparing the field and nurturing tomato upto the harvesting levels require at least Tk150,000 per bigha of land, informed Abdul Momin, a farmer of Namo Bhadra area under Rajshahi City Corporation.
Abdul Hamid, a farmer of Naodapara BADC farm area informed, procurement of summer tomato sapling is a great problem for the farmers of Rajshahi. He said that the technique of growing seedlings from the seeds of summer tomato is very complicated and requires a round the clock care. The controlling of temperature and moisture in the soil is also very hard for the farmers that are why they require training for this purpose but there is no government initiative to train the tomato farmers of the district.
He further informed that failing to grow saplings of summer tomato in their fields, many farmers used to visit Kushtia and Jashore to procure tomato saplings which is also costly and troublesome.
Moniruzzaman Monir, another tomato farmer of Alai Bidirpur area under Godagari thana informed, he had planted Summer tomato on 10 Katha ( 15 decimal ) of land at a cost of taka 80,000. He hoped to sell tomato worth Tk 150,000 from the field.
“We hoped to sell those summer tomatoes at a good price. But, due to unfriendly weather conditions and extreme heat even during the monsoon, the growth of tomato plants was thwarted. At the same time, continuous rainfall during the month of August and in early September also caused harm for the tomato plants and flowering of tomatoes. The rainfall also encouraged multiplication of pests at the fields and using of pesticides to control pests also proved futile due to rain fall and absence of sunshine for days”, informed Monir.
Now summer tomatoes are in the markets but they are not getting a satisfactory price because of uncanny weather conditions, the growth, shape and lustre of tomatoes have been affected badly, he informed.
Mujibur Rahman, a wholesale green grocer at Rajshahi Shaheb bazar informed, there was no quality summer tomato at the markets of Rajshahi during the Monsoon period. The price of tomato was also high- taka 2,500 to 2,800 per mound while that was being sold at 80 to 100 by the retailers.
Tomato farmers Rabuil, Antonie and Hafiz at Rajabari under Godagari upazila informed, the farmers were selling summer tomato at taka 1,800 to 2,000 per maund. They complained, the middlemen were earning a huge profit by selling the tomato in the city markets.
Meanwhile, farmers of Godagari and Tanore upazilas are now busy in preparing beds for sowing seeds of hybrid tomato in their fields though many of the farmers are losing their interest to cultivate hybrid varieties of tomato for the want of quality seeds. Farmers are also being cheated by purchasing adulterated tomato seeds at a high cost.
It is learnt, Hybrid tomato is being successfully cultivated in Godagari and Tanore upazilas for the last 20-year. Most of the farmers are using Sabal F-1 variety of tomato seed processed and sold by Syngneta Company. However, for the last couple of years, hundreds of hybrid tomato farmers of the upazilas incurred a huge loss due to the use of adulterated tomato seeds. Demanding compensation, the tomato farmers had also filed cases with the court against the Syngenta Company. As a result, the company suspended supplying tomato seeds to the farmers.
At the same time, taking advantage of the absence of Syngenta, many other companies came forward to supply tomato seeds to the farmers. But no quality tomato is produced by using those seeds. Being frustrated and getting no quality seeds, tomato farmers have squeezed tomato farming in their fields this year and are switching to other crops and vegetables.
Nazmul Haque of Mohshalbari village informed, he has been cultivating hybrid tomatoes for the last ten years. But, incurring continuous loss for the last three years, he has decreased the tomato cultivation. Instead of cultivating tomato in five bighas of land, he was cultivating tomato on one Bigha of land only this year. He informed, many tomato farmers of the upazila like him were opting for other crops like mustard or lentil instead of tomato.
It is learnt, in various seed shops of Tanore and Godagari upazilas, hybrid tomato seeds under the brand names ’Nayak’, ‘Asim’, ‘Salamat’ and ‘Lovely’ are being sold but tomato seeds of Syngenta company is not being sold there.
At the same time, tomato seeds under the brand name Bangabeer were being sold at the markets last year which yielded a good harvest but the same brand of seed was not available this year.
Rabiul Islam, Agent of Syngenta Company in Godagari informed, the company is supply quality Beagle brand of tomato seed in Godagari . He hoped the company would supply more seeds during the ongoing season.
Agriculture office sources of Godagari informed the hybrid tomato farmers of the upazila have been warned through leaflets and through agriculture officials and workers at the field levels not to be cheated by purchasing adulterated and low quality tomato seeds.
