Yardlong bean farmers over the moon with bumper yields
Farmers that cultivated yardlong bean in fallow lands in two unions of Kulaura upazila in Sylhet's Moulvibazar district are enjoying tremendous success because of bumper yields and a reasonable market price.
They now hope to expand cultivation with support from the federal government.
Favourable climate and the option of relatively cheap fertilisers resulted in a huge harvest this year, according to farmers.
Yardlong bean, generally known as asparagus bean, was farmed on 50 hectares of land in Brahmanbazar and Baramchal unions of Kulaura this year, up from 40 hectares in 2020, data from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) shows.
The spot produces three types of legume. It is considered an excellent yield when one bigha of land produces 10 to 12 maunds of yardlong bean 8 weeks after planting.
Amid the ongoing harvesting period, many local women are engaged in collecting the vegetable. They are paid a portion of the harvest as wages.
"I can collect 14 to 16 kilograms of yardlong bean daily and get one-sixth of it as wages," said Husna Begum, who was simply collecting the vegetable from a field in the upazila's Chokergram village on Friday.
Similarly, Aklima Begum, Helena Begum, Ambia Khatun, Kohinoor Begum, and Jahanara Begum are engaged in the seasonal profession to add to their family income.
Wholesalers from all over the country come to Sreepur Madrasa Bazar on Kulaura's Brahmanbazar-Baramchal road to get the bean from local farmers.
As such, the bazar bustles with activity from 6:00 am to 9:00 am nearly every day as traders come to get the vegetable.
Throughout a recent visit to the region, this correspondent spoke to Md Harun Mia and Jahangir Mia, residents of Singur village, who had come to market their yardlong beans at the market.
"Since my one and a half bigha of land would be otherwise left unused after harvesting aman paddy, I cultivate yardlong bean in December-January," Harun said.
He sells 700 kgs of yardlong bean at the wholesale market each day.
"So far, I've made around Tk 21,000 from the crop this season. I will be in a position to sell the vegetable worth another Tk 50,000 in a single month," he added.
Jahangir said he had been cultivating the bean for 15 years now.
Sometimes when the plants are destroyed because of pest attacks, or drought, farmers are left to count losses because they don't get any support from the federal government.
"The neighborhood agriculture officers visit from time to time merely to give advice. We must choose the fertilisers, seeds and pesticides ourselves," he added.
There is often no or less rain in the united states between December and April every year. So, water has to be sourced from near by ponds to water the land.
If tube-wells and pumps were provided for irrigation, the crisis could possibly be alleviated, farmers said.
"With government subsidies or incentives, we're able to expand cultivation," Jahangir said.
Feroz Mia cultivated yardlong bean on four bighas of land in Chakergram, while Ashuk Ahmed planted the legume using one bigha of land in Sreepur.
They sold the vegetable at low cost of Tk 20 to Tk 40 per kg.
"I have sold beans worth about Tk 1 lakh up to now. I could earn another Tk 20,000 this season if there are no pest attacks," Feroz said.
It costs about Tk 400-500 to apply pesticides every day. Besides, the water crisis discourages persons from cultivating yardlong bean.
"It will be better if the government provides incentives," he added.
According to Ahmed, everyone could plant beans if given the opportunity since most lands are left unused following the aman paddy season.
Ashraful Islam Rajib, a union person in Baramchal, said that more than 400 families from about 30 villages of the Brahmanbazar and Baramchal unions were involved in yardlong bean cultivation.
There is a large amount of interest in cultivating the vegetable due to its relatively low production cost. But only with the government's help can the farmers expand the acreage, Rajib added.
Hosen Ali and Rajan Ahmed, wholesalers from Sylhet who source legumes from Sreepur Madrasa Bazar, said there is a lot of demand for yardlong bean.
"I buy 30-40 maunds of beans every day to sell in several places," Ali said.
Md Abdul Momin, agriculture officer of Kulaura upazila, said that they only provided advice to local farmers as there are no official incentive packages for yardlong bean cultivation.
"We encourage the utilization of eco-friendly and cost-effective pheromone traps to avoid infestations. We also supply the necessary advice to avoid yellow mosaic virus infections," he added.
The yardlong bean grown in Brahmanbazar and Baramchal are incredibly popular in the Sylhet region, said Lutful Bari, deputy director of the DAE.
"The rewarding crop has seen a gradual increase in farming across the division, and growers are happy with the bumper yields this year."
