Farmers busy harvesting jute, but worried about price

RAJSHAHI, Aug 2: The farmers are passing very busy time in harvesting jute from their fields across nine upazilas of the district.
They are expecting bumper jute production in the region this season due to favourable weather. But at the same time, they are worried that they would not get fair price of the produce like previous years.  
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi, the farmers cultivated jute on 13,945 hectares of land this season in the region exceeding the target of 13,622 ha, and it was 13,622 ha in the previous season. The farmers here cultivated different varieties of jute including Tosha and some indigenous ones this year, the DAE sources said.
The farmers are very much interested in jute cultivation as the government has made it mandatory to use jute bags for carrying all kinds of goods which has increased the demand of jute products.
A farmer can produce around eight maunds of jute per bigha of land spending Tk 8,000. Jute was sold at Tk 1,500 to 1,600 per maund in the beginning of the last harvesting season in 2016, but the price stood at Tk 2,200 during the offseason, the DAE sources added.
Afaz Uddin, a jute grower of Teghor under Paba upazila here said, "I spent Tk 11,000 to 12,000 to cultivate each bigha of land this year. If per maund of jute sells under Tk 2,000, then I'll have to face loss. It was Tk 2,500 to 2,700 per maund in the last several years. I am expecting bumper jute production this year."
Jute growers- Altaf Hossain of Beelnepalpara and Bashar Ali of Modhusudanpur under Paba upazila, Idad Ali of Berabari under Mohanpur upazila and Sirajul Islam of Kababira village under Baghmara upazila said, "The farmers here brought more lands under jute cultivation this year after getting bumper yield with fair market price in the previous years. Now we are passing very busy times in cutting jute." 
Deputy Director of the DAE in Rajshahi Debu Dali said, "The farmers here crossed the cultivation target of jute this year. They are going to achieve a bumper jute production with fair market price due to favourable weather this year."
"They are becoming interested in its cultivation as the demand of jute products is increasing and the government has made jute products mandatory for use," he added.