Due to frequent rains, the litchi crop in Thakurgaon has suffered a setback this year. However, according to the Department of Agriculture, farmers will benefit from better market prices and reduced transportation problems.
Litchi, a juicy and tasty summer fruit, is not abundantly available at local markets in the district this year. The main reasons for this are the presence of insects in litchis and intermittent rains, which is causing litchi to fell from the trees before it ripens.
Moreover, due to continuous rains, it was not possible to spray hormonal pesticides. Farmers and traders have started collecting litchi in many orchards for fear of cost overruns due to untimely ripening of litchi. In this situation, litchi farmers have expressed concern that it will not be possible to raise their cost of production.
At present, per thousand litchis are being sold in the market at a price of Tk 2,000 to Tk 3,000, this will cost farmers and gardeners a lot of money. Last year, the district claimed to have produced litchi worth Tk 30 crore. Farmers and garden owners will incur losses of a lot of money.
Due to the halving of the yield this year, the amount of loss in terms of money is more than 15 crore taka.
Litchi orchard owners and farmers said that although the weather was good at the beginning of this year, many litchi trees fell due to frequent rains towards the sheep. Most of the traders have expressed concern that they will count the losses.
This year, litchi has been cultivated in about 2,000 orchards in 3,000 hectares of land in Thakurgaon district. The target for litchi production is 17,100 MT. If the yield was as expected, the farmers of the district would have earned around Tk 30 crore by selling litchi.
But due to the halving of the yield, the farmers are fearing a loss of around Tk 15 crore.
In this regard, the Deputy Director of the District Agriculture Extension Department, agriculturist Aftab Hossain said, the farmers will benefit as in the previous year as the transport crisis is over and the market prices are good.
