32 thousand tons of garlic production potential in Chatmohar

Tofazzal Hossain Babu, Pabna: Farmers of Chatmohar in Pabna are now extracting garlic from the land. Most of the farmers have already finished harvesting garlic. Garlic farmers are happy to get good price and yield this time.

Garlic has been cultivated on a limited scale in Chatmohar for many years. In the last nineties, the cultivation of garlic without cultivation started in this area. In the beginning of no-tillage garlic cultivation, garlic farmers get good price and yield of this spice crop. As a result, no-till garlic cultivation became popular within a few years. The scope of garlic cultivation is gradually increasing. 

Garlic became one of the main crops of Chatmohar. Many farmers live a prosperous life by growing garlic. Garlic is known as white gold in this area due to high profit in some years. Like gold, the price of garlic fluctuates. Some years the price of garlic drops unimaginably. Then the garlic farmers were disappointed. Many farmers have suffered losses due to the low price of garlic in the last two or three years. Farmers are still cultivating garlic in the hope of profit even though the crop has decreased.  

The noise of male and female workers can be seen while visiting the different fields of surface chatmohar. Some are picking garlic, some are building huts, some are taking garlic home in different vehicles. Although the remuneration of women workers is relatively less than that of men, women workers are working in the garlic field from morning to evening. For extra income, they wake up early in the morning and prepare food for themselves and go out to pick garlic in the family's land. 

As schools and colleges are closed, some poor students are also picking garlic in other people's land. To prevent the theft of garlic, the owners put up temporary huts in the fields at night. Workers take temporary shelter in those huts to escape from the sun during the day.

Inamul Haque, a garlic grower of Ramnagar village in Chatmohar, told CNI that cultivation of garlic on one bigha of land costs about Tk 25 to 30 thousand for seeds, irrigation, fertiliser, pesticides and labour. 30 to 40 maunds of garlic are available if there is no natural calamity. This year, depending on the size, garlic is being sold from Tk 1500 to Tk 2000 per head. As such, the farmer's profit per bigha is about Tk 20,000. Last year, at the end of the season, garlic was sold at a price of 600 to 700 taka. Many did not plant garlic this time due to losses last year. Many people have grown garlic on less land.

Chatmohar Upazila Agriculture Officer AA Masum Billah told CNA that 3,400 hectares of garlic has been cultivated in Chatmohar this season. This year the yield has been good as the weather has been favorable for garlic cultivation. The average yield per hectare is 9 and a half metric tons. Farmers are benefiting as the prices are good.

 

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