Bumper bitter gourd production in Gomti Char makes farmers smile
Zakir Azad, Cumilla
Farmers are smiling in Cumilla due to bumper bitter gourd production . This time, Gomti Char has witnessed a bumper harvest of bitter gourd, a vegetable rich in medicinal properties.
The farmers of the char are happy to get good prices. Although the farmers of Gomti Char were affected by the floods of last August, they have started to make up for the loss by cultivating various vegetables this year. Various varieties of vegetables rich in nutrients are cultivated in this char for twelve months. Among them, this year, bitter gourd cultivation in the char has yielded as expected. The farmers have expressed satisfaction at getting large sizes and good prices.
Recently, while visiting Gomti Char in different areas of Cumilla , it was seen that large bitter gourds of improved varieties are hanging on the trellis under white flowers and green leaves.
Some of the farmers are collecting ripe bitter gourds from the trellis and stacking them next to the land. Some are filling the bags by weighing and handing them over to the wholesalers. Along with men, women and children are also working in the fields to collect bitter gourd. Farmers of Gomti Char in Muradnagar, Debidwar, Burichang, Brahmanpara and Sadar Dakshin areas of the district are spending their time busy cultivating bitter gourd.
Farmers of the char said that last August, all the agricultural land in the char was submerged due to the rise in the water level of the Gomti River. The dam broke and flooded the vast agricultural land of Burichang, Brahmanpara and Debidwar upazilas. Farmers who were producing crops on the land faced losses.
However, when the water receded, they started to turn around from the beginning of October. Within three months, the farmers' fortune returned fertile land to the forest silt. Among the various vegetables cultivated on these lands, bitter gourd cultivation has also brought smiles to the faces of the farmers.
According to the Cumilla District Agricultural Extension Office, this year, improved varieties of bitter gourd have been cultivated on 350 hectares of land in Cumilla . Of this, only 120 hectares of bitter gourd have been cultivated in Gomti Char. As more than 200 farmers in the char cultivate bitter gourd using modern methods, the bitter gourd is also exported to other districts to meet the demand of the district. This year, the farmers of the char have earned about two crore taka.
Rokon Mia and Harun Mia, bitter gourd farmers of Gomti Char, said that this year the price of bitter gourd is better than other years. Per kg of bitter gourd has been sold at 70-80 taka. We do not have the problem of taking our bitter gourd to the market, wholesalers collect it from the fields and take it to the market.
Abul Hossain , a farmer of Barera Char in Debidwar, said that we have cultivated bitter gourd on 40 hectares of land. Pesticides, fertilizers and other expenses have been 30 thousand taka. So far, about 250 thousand taka have been sold. There are more bitter gourds in the fields, another 30-40 thousand taka of bitter gourds can be sold. He also said that last year, the crops of the land were washed away by the flood. This caused us a lot of loss. This loss can be compensated this year.
Debidwar Upazila Agriculture Officer Banin Roy said, this year, 35 hectares of bitter gourd have been cultivated in Debidwar Upazila. Last year, 30 hectares of land were cultivated. We hope that in the upcoming season, bitter gourd will be cultivated twice as much. The maximum cultivation of bitter gourd has been done in Gomati Char.
The soil and weather of Gomati Char always produce good yields of bitter gourd and other vine vegetables. Farmers cultivate cucumbers on the terrace.
After cucumbers, some people cultivate bitter gourd on the same terrace and also grow gourd. This year, we expected a bumper harvest of bitter gourd and they would be quite profitable. With the funding of the Upazila Parishad, 10 farmers have been helped to produce safe crops by providing various incentives in the Rabi season. We have plans to provide training to farmers in producing good crops in the future.
Cumilla District Agriculture Department Deputy Director, Agriculturist Ayub Mahmud told Kaler Kantha that farmers of Gomti Char are playing a major role in crop production. This year, bitter gourd has been cultivated on 120 hectares of land in Gomti Char. Farmers of the char are cultivating various types of vegetables in a modern and environmentally friendly way. Bitter gourd is one of them.
Since the bitter gourd of the char has good nutritional and medicinal properties, its demand in the market is also high. They do not use any harmful poison in the bitter gourd and cultivate poison-free vegetables by controlling insects using modern methods, which is why the vegetables of this char are delicious. They cultivate bitter gourd in different seasons and off-seasons.
Farmers are benefiting from this. Various incentives and high-quality fertilizers and seeds are also being provided by the District Agricultural Extension Office through various agricultural officers of the upazila.
