SM Suman Rashid:
Every year, the southern region has a good harvest of watermelons. In this season, as soon as you open your eyes, there is a riot of greenery all around. Even on the vast sand dunes, the trees wrapped in green vines are covered with green leaves and vines. In between them, juicy watermelon fruits are seen. As far as the eye can see, only the stripes of watermelons are visible.
Watermelon fruits are now being sold from watermelon seeds planted in late December.
A visit to the Guliahali char area of ​​the coastal Gulishakhali union of Amtoli upazila has shown that early watermelon harvest has been done on the fallow land in that area. This area is a riverside char area filled with sand and clay. In this area, farmers cultivate watermelon extensively in one season and cultivate paddy in the rest of the season. Due to the fluctuation of water in this, the farmers cultivate watermelon by building a dam on that land.
It has been learned from a visit to Amtali Upazila that watermelon farmers in Gulishakhali, Kukua, Haldia, Sadar Union, Chawra and Kukua Unions of this upazila are getting lower seed prices this year compared to last year. Many farmers have lost interest in watermelon cultivation due to losses in watermelon last year. In the market, a box (100 grams) of Big Family is being sold for Tk 2,500, Jagua for Tk 2,200 and Asian seeds for Tk 1,900.
However, farmers said that the prices of medicines and seeds have not increased excessively. All farmers in this char area expect that the farmers will benefit more from the sector.
Watermelon farmers Local farmers have been cultivating watermelons for the past 15 years. Although the watermelons produced in Baliari are small in size, they are preferred by customers because of their good taste. Farmers have been cultivating watermelons continuously because of the profit. Meanwhile, the weight of each watermelon in the field is four to five kilograms, while some watermelons weigh eight to ten kilograms.
Visiting Dalachara Chhota Gulishakhali in Gulishakhali Union, Tepura in Haldia Union, and Amara Gachia in Kukuar, it was seen that the farmers are selling watermelons in full swing.
Lal Mia of Kukuar said, “I cultivated watermelon on 5 acres of land this year. The cost will be less this year compared to last year because the price of seeds is low.”
According to Amtali Agriculture Office sources, last year the target for watermelon was 2,700 hectares. This year, this target has been set and farmers are cultivating watermelon on only 494 hectares of land. This year, watermelon cultivation has doubled from 4,594 hectares of land compared to last year. As the sandy-loam soil is suitable for watermelon cultivation, juicy watermelon cultivation is good in Amtali. Watermelon yield is good in Atharogachia, Kukua, Haldia and Chaora unions of Amtali upazila. This year, farmers in those unions are not cultivating watermelon due to fear of losses.
Farmers said that they have been cultivating watermelons on 15 acres of land spread over an area of ​​about one and a half kilometers in Gulishakhali village, a coastal area. Currently, watermelons have started to be harvested from the fields. After a week, it will be possible to market them in full swing. And the watermelons will be sold in three phases.
Watermelon farmer Shaheen Gazi, who has been cultivating watermelons for the past 8 years, said, “I have cultivated watermelons on five acres of land. This will yield a profit of over one lakh rupees after deducting the costs. Each watermelon is sold for 30 to 500 taka.”
Amtali Upazila Senior Agriculture Officer Md. Isah said,
This year, the target area for watermelon cultivation in Amtali Upazila is 4,594 hectares. Last year, due to favorable weather conditions and good market prices, farmers benefited greatly from watermelon cultivation. Due to this, the interest in watermelon cultivation is increasing among farmers this year.
Amtali Upazila Agriculture Officer Md. Ashraful Alam said, “There are watermelon fields across this upazila. The watermelons from the coast are quite delicious. The agriculture officer has been instructed to give as much advice to the farmers to increase the yield.”
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