Farmers have found the path of becoming financially solvent through tomato farming as it has already delighted many of them in the region, including its vast Barind tract, for the last couple of years.
In addition to the professional farmers, scores of armatures, particularly the educated and semi-educated unemployed ones, are seen humming towards the cash crop farming for mitigating their unemployment curse.
Rabbil Hossain, 43, has established a tomato garden on 40 bigha of land through hanger method at Bamnahal area under Godagari Upazila. He has already sold his products worth around Taka three lakh during the current season.Hossain is also highly hopeful about selling his crop worth at around Taka 40 lakh more because the plants are growing well.
Market price of the early harvested tomato is always lucrative but on the contrary the late ones frustrated the growers badly. "Now, we are catching the high price," said Rabbil Hossain.
Tomato is being sold at Taka 60 to 65 per kilogram in wholesale markets, while Taka 120 to 140 in retail
market at present.
Platform-cultivated tomato has a demand here as it becomes matured on plants and there is no need of using any chemical for ripening, he said.