Shortage of day-labourers hampers potato cultivation at Tanore

RAJSHAHI, Nov 28: The farmers at Tanore upazila of the district are facing serious shortage of day-labourers for potato cultivation this season.
Now the labour cost has increased this year due to lack of required workforce. For each bigha of land, they have to pay Tk 1500-2000 to labourers whereas it was Tk 1000-Tk 1100 per bigha land during the last year, potato farmers said.
Now many farmers here have been delaying the potato plantation owing to labour crisis,
they said.
While visiting different areas in the village, this correspondent found that the farmers are passing
Busy time in their fields in planting potato seeds after harvesting of Aman paddy.
While talking to The Daily Observer, Habibur Rahman, potato grower of Chimna village of the upazila, said that he used to cultivate 30 to 35 bighas of land in every season taking lease of the land. But he cultivated only 20 bighas of land in this season because, he is facing a serious labour crisis in this season, he added.
Shreemoti Sushila Rani, labourer in the same area, she is engaged in making size of potato seeds.  She takes Tk 25 for per sack of potatoes. She can cut and make sizes of potato seeds of 5-6 sacks per day. Six women labourers can prepare 15 to 20 sacks of potato seeds in every day, she added.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Shafiqul Islam said that the potato cultivation target is fixed at 6,060 hectares of land. But there is a labour crisis for the first time in the upazila. Meanwhile, around 550 hectares have been planted. With the end of the existing labour crisis, more lands would be brought under potato cultivation in this year, he hopped.