Online BDRUNNER
May 10:- The chili drying is underway in every house of these remote villages of Payastirchar, Guchchagram, Char No. 6, and Char No. 7 of Kamarchar Union in the district headquarters in a festive mode. Chilli drying work is going on everywhere, from the sheds of farmers’ houses to the courtyards. Like every year, this year too, the majority of the district’s chili production has been in this char area.
It was seen in the open field that the smell of dried chili was wafting into the nose from afar. Men and women are busy taking care of chili plots laid out in rows.
Farmers said that Kamarchar is eroded by the Dashani and Old Brahmaputra rivers. Every year, floods deposit a lot of silt on these agricultural lands in the river area. When the water recedes after the flood, hundreds of tons of chili are cultivated in the fertile land that has silted up.
In addition to selling the raw chili, a large portion is cooked for consumption. Then, the chili is dried in the sun to make dried chili, an essential ingredient in cooking. Local farmers cultivate a large amount of dried chili every year, which meets the needs of their own district and is sold to other districts.
According to the District Agriculture Office, this year, a target of chili production was set for 1,100 hectares of land in Sherpur. The bumper harvest exceeded the target and chili is cultivated on 1,101 hectares of land. Where 650 tons of dried chili will be produced and the average yield of chili per hectare is about 3 tons.
Taslima Akhter (30), a farmer from Paystirchar, said that the current market price of raw chili is 30 to 35 taka per kg. If we sell chili at this price, we lose money. So we ripen the chili and sell it later. We have to take the ripened chili from the field home and re-expose it to the sun. If the sun is high, it takes 15 days and if it is low, it takes a month for the dried chili to be suitable for sale. Then this dried chili can be sold for 220 to 240 taka per kg.
Jamal Uddin (40), a farmer from Char No. 6, said that the land in the char area is very suitable for cultivating chillies. The cost of cultivating chillies is 30 to 35 thousand taka per bigha. Excluding irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides and labor costs, there is a profit of around 30 thousand taka.
Hasmat Ali (45), a farmer from Guchchagram, said that the price of raw chillies in the current market is comparatively very low. Therefore, we are leaning towards producing dried chillies. Where the price of raw chillies is 800 to 1 thousand taka per maund, the price of dried chillies is 8 to 9 thousand taka per maund.
Farmer Azgar Ali (50) said that if improved seeds and regular advice from the agriculture office are received, on the one hand, the production of chilies will increase and on the other hand, the dependence on imports from abroad will decrease. On the other hand, farmers in marginal areas will benefit if they get fair prices. Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain, Deputy Director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, told BSS that farmers are increasing their interest in producing dried chillies day by day as it is profitable. The Department of Agriculture is providing various assistance to farmers in the char areas by advising them to increase chili cultivation.
