Hoping for high profits, many farmers in Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga turned to cultivating Taro root (locally known as mukhi kachu) this season. However, with rising production costs and a sudden drop in market prices, many now fear they will lose their entire investment.
Farmers report investing around Tk 40,000 to Tk 45,000 per bigha to grow the crop, but current market prices are far from sufficient to recover their costs. Encouraged by last year’s high returns, a significant number of farmers shifted to yam farming this season. However, excessive rainfall has devastated many fields, especially in low-lying areas like Uthli, Andulbaria, Raipur, Hasadah, Banka, Manorpur, and surrounding border regions, where the plants have been waterlogged and the leaves damaged.
Some farmers, anticipating better prices, are still holding on to their harvests, while others are selling in retail markets in small quantities. Despite their efforts, the current wholesale price of yam—between Tk 25 and Tk 30 per kg—barely covers harvesting and labour costs.
Abdus Sattar, a farmer from Subolpur village, shared, “I cultivated yam on 40 shatak of land, spending around Tk 60,000. I also need to pay Tk 20,000 as lease to the landowner. A few weeks ago, a buyer offered Tk 1 lakh for the crop, and I was expecting Tk 1.2 lakh. But now, the offer is only Tk 60,000—this won’t even cover my debts.”
Kaushik Rahman, a young farmer from Uthli, said, “Half of my 1.5 bigha yam crop is under water, and the rest has been damaged by excessive rain. Harvesting yam requires many labourers, and after paying them, there’s hardly anything left.”
Another farmer, Labu Mallik, said, “Yam farming is costly—it needs regular irrigation, a lot of fertiliser, and frequent labour. Last year, I sold one bigha of yam for Tk 1 lakh, but this year, prices are half of that.”
Local traders believe the high rainfall and low potato prices have reduced consumer demand for yam. However, with the weather improving, prices are slowly beginning to recover.
