Betel leaf farming, one of the most profitable farming to the farmers became almost losing concern when the government has been doing anything and everything for the wellbeing of the farmers’ community.
The officials of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah has been blaming the decades old betel leaf orchards and unplanned application of chemical fertilizers, oilcake and other materials. About six percent of the betel leaf orchards was reduced in a year in the district when the farmers were incurring loss, said the farmers of Harinakundu.
When this correspondent visited Ramnagar, Kamarkhali, Joradah and Bhabanipur villages of the most popular betel leaf producing Harinakundu upazila, had talked to a number of betel leaf farmers.
They said most of the old aged orchards were not providing optimum yield even after applying fertilizer and pest management inputs when the plants were rotten by some bacterial diseases. Application of bactericidal as advised by the DAE officials could not save the crops.
Farmer Nayan Ahmed and Babul Hossain of Kamarkhali village said the betel leaf plants get rotten within a few days of attack and most of the plants witness the same fate.
According to a source related to the DAE Khamarbari in Jhenaidah, the the farmers are producing 28,752 tones of betel leaf in the district. About 12.87 tones of betel leaf were expected from each hectare of land.
Upazila wise break up of betel leaf farming was 204 hectares in Jhenaidah Sadar, 300 hectares in Kaliganj, 85 hectares in Kotchandpur, 25 hectares in bordering Moheshpur, 320 hectares in Shailkupa and highest 1,300 hectares in Harinakundu. The farmers of the district produced 30,502 tones of betel leaf on a total of 2,370 hectares of land in the last year. 136 hectares of land was dropped in the current season, sources said.
DAE sub assistant agriculture officer (SAAO) in Harinakundu Shafiqur Rahman when contacted at the fields, said most of the old aged betel leaf plots were affected by the bacterial diseases. The DAE officials have been advising them for application of bactericidal where the respond was not satisfactory for the farmers.
The SAAO said bacteria might be spread from the affected plants in the orchards, used oilcake, water, the day labourers engaged in caring the plots and other ways. But the farmers do not follow the guidelines for keeping the orchards free from bacteria. Further, they also almost careless about the underground level of the soil.
Harinakundu upazila agriculture officer Hafiz Hasan when contacted said although the newly filled plots were not considered suitable for betel leaf farming, the farmers in the area almost unaware about application of chemical fertilizer and other materials. Expecting better yield form the plots, the farmers apply excessive chemical fertilizer as they desire. Further, they do not follow the guidelines for orchard management as the DAE advises them.