Sitakunda bean farmers switch to other crops due to low price, high production cost

Farmers in Sitakunda, which is famous for producing high-yielding varieties of beans and exporting the vegetable, are now turning away from bean cultivation owing to low profit and increased production and labour costs.

Subsequently, the cultivation and yield of beans have decreased significantly in the upazila that once produced nearly one-third of the country's total bean production.

Abu Taher, a farmer in Baroiardhala area of Sitakunda, told The Business Standard, "Last year I cultivated beans on around 400 decimals of land. But the profit was less due to rising prices of bamboo, fertilisers and pesticides and high labour costs.

"This year, I cultivated beans on 240 decimals of land and planted tomatoes, gourds and sweet pumpkins in the remaining parts."

Sitakunda upazila Agriculture Extension Officer Mohammad Habibullah told TBS, "As the cost of bean production has increased and its price and demand dropped, the farmers are losing interest in bean cultivation and switching to other more profitable vegetables."

According to a 2020 survey conducted by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, more than 1.44 lakh tonnes of beans are produced in Bangladesh every year, of which 54,000 tonnes are from Sitakunda alone.

In Sitakunda, 1 hectare of land produces 18 tonnes, which is 16 tonnes in other bean-growing regions of the country, data from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) suggest. 

In the last two years, bean production in Sitakunda decreased by almost 10% and the yield may fall further to 49,000 tonnes this year, which may affect exports, DAE sources said.

Areas under bean cultivation also marked a decline to 2,650 hectares this year from 3,000 hectares in 2021, extension officials said.

Farmer Nuruddin, also from Baroiardhala, said in the first month of the season, beans sell for Tk70-80 a kg, but later the price comes down to Tk25-30, reducing the profit.

"On the other hand, other vegetables sell at good prices throughout the season, garnering good profit. So, I focused on cultivating other vegetables besides beans," he explained.

Asked about the yield of beans this year, Nuruddin said several plants were damaged due to heavy rain under the influence of two cyclones last month. If it rains again, the yield will be greatly reduced.

Mohammad Monju, a farmer in Mohadebpur of Sitakunda municipality, shared with TBS that the volume of agricultural land in Sitakunda is decreasing every year due to industrialisation, which is one of the reasons behind the decline in bean cultivation.

Sitakunda Upazila Agriculture Extension Officer Habibullah believes that if the prices of beans can be raised and exports are increased, it is possible to revive bean cultivation among farmers.

According to him, at present, after meeting domestic demand, beans and bean seeds are exported from Sitakunda to at least 20 countries, including the US, the UK, and the UAE.

Syed Munerul Hoque, quarantine pathologist at Chattogram port's plant quarantine station, told TBS that in the fiscal 2021-22, 568.59 tonnes of bean seeds were exported to several countries in the Middle East, and the UK, the US, Canada through the port, which has decreased to 447.5 tonnes in the fiscal 2022-23. This year, the export has not started yet.