The farmers in Jhenaidah district are very happy as they are receiving better price of jute in the current season. They are also expecting more price in future of the crop. The increasing trend of jute price might increase the farming of the golden fibre in next seasons, the farmers in Jhenaidah said.
At Langalbandh Bazar weekly market, one of the largest markets in greater Jashore, Manindra Nath Biswas, 65, a farmer of Kamalnagar village in Shailkupa Upazila of Jhenaidah, said that he sold his red variety of jute fibre, locally known as Lalipat, at Tk 3,000 per maund, while the Shamla variety was sold at Tk 2,600 to Tk 2,800. He sold the Lalipat at Taka 2,750 to 2,800 about 10 days ago.
Shamsul Mollah, a farmer of Dhalaharachandra village of the same Upazila, said the present price of the jute fibre was quite satisfactory for the farmers as it will ensure some profit for the farmers. The farmers like him had incurred heavy loss by farming and selling jute earlier.
Prominent jute trader at Langalbandh Bazar weekly market, Haradhan Kundu, said the farmers of Shailkupa Upazila in Jhenaidah, Sripur Upazila in neighboring Magura and Pangsha Upazila of Rajbari crowd at the market twice a week (every Thursday and Sunday). At least 30 thousand maunds of jute are sold in the market every week. The jute loaded trucks go to Daulatpur in Khulna and some other markets. Most of the farmers expressed their satisfaction with the present price of jute, Haradhan Kundu said.
According to a source related to the office of the deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah, they had set a target to produce 58,879 tonnes or 315,588 bales of jute fibre from a total of 23,800 hectares of land in the season. Average yield of the fibre was expected 2.474 tonnes on each hectare. However, the farmers had reduced the area of farming in the season. They had covered 21,446 hectares of land which was almost 90 percent of the farming target.
DAE deputy director (DD) in Jhenaidah Sasti Chandra Roy said, they were very caring about the cultivation of jute when there was severe drought in Jhenaidah and surrounding districts. It had affected the jute plots in the growing stage. But the rainfall in July and current month has helped the farmers a lot. They (farmers) saved the irrigation cost and the growth was better in the season.
Moreover, the frequent rainfall in August has been helping the jute rotten system for the farmers as most of the irrigation canals, ponds, ditches were full of water due to rainfall. They were expecting the increase in jute farming in future, DAE DD Sasti Chandra Roy expressed his hope.
