Bangladesh: Tobacco Cultivation in Lalmonirhat Doubles
Source from: The Daily Star 12/19/2013
A staggering 50 thousand hectares of land in the district has been brought under tobacco cultivation against last year's 25 thousand hectares, said sources of agriculture department, tobacco companies and farmers.
Farming of the harmful item sees an alarming rise in a number of villages in five upazilas under Lalmonirhat district as tobacco companies conduct successful door to door campaign to motivate farmers for the purpose.
Azizar Rahman, 60, of Baninagar village of Kaliganj upazila for the first time cultivated tobacco on his three acres of land that was earlier used to produce paddy.
Like Azizar, around two thousand farmers in the district have got their names listed as new tobacco growers with hope to get high profit.
"Seeing my neighbour's good earning from tobacco farming last year, I have now prepared my three hectares of land for the same purpose as paddy farming earlier failed to bring me expected profit," said Anwar Hossain, a farmer at Karnapur village in Lalmonirhat Sadar.
"We the tobacco growers always get seed, fertiliser and other inputs and technical support from the tobacco companies. After yield, the companies purchase the item for good prices," said Ashraf Ali, who has continued tobacco cultivation for the last 20 years at Saptibari village in Aditmari upazila.
"We get support including interest-free loan from the company in our crisis period," said tobacco grower Nazrul Islam at Sarpukur village in Aditmari upazila.
The area of tobacco farming has almost doubled at Karnapur village this year and the farm labourers daily wage has risen to Tk 250 from last year's Tk 200, said farm labourers Meher Ali, Shamsher Miah, Narayan Das, Manik Chandra, Taslim Uddin, Liakot Hossain and others.
Most of the farmers do not know the harmful effect of tobacco cultivation on the soil but agriculture officials hardly come to make farmers aware about it, said farmer Haider Ali at Kakina village of Kaliganj upazila.
Tobacco growers cultivate the item from late November to middle December and harvest it in the last week of February to first week of March. They get 45 to 70 maunds of yield from each hectare of land and one maund (40 kg) tobacco is sold for Tk 3,000 to Tk 4,000.
Six tobacco companies work in the field level in Lalmonirhat district round the year and they often make advance payment for the cultivation, farmers said.
Expressing deep concern over large-scale tobacco cultivation on paddy lands, Abdul Mazid, deputy director in Lalmonirhat DAE, said his department always conduct campaigns to build up awareness among the farmers but they forget the matter later due to temptation of high profit. Enditem
