Laxmipur Correspondent: Ramgati-Kamalnagar upazila of Laxmipur has a bumper crop of betel nuts. Farmers and wholesalers are busy buying and selling retail and wholesale at the betel nut markets. The soil and climate here are suitable for betel nut production. There is no house in this town that does not have a betel nut tree. Apart from this, there are betel nut plantations in the area. Betel nut plantations are producing crores of betel nuts. As the market price is good, the interest of the people here is increasing in betel nut cultivation.
However, betel nut cultivation is decreasing day by day due to river erosion. There is no more land for farming because people’s houses and soil have been washed away by the river. As a result of river erosion, homesteads and betel nut cultivation are decreasing day by day.
According to the Directorate of Agricultural Extension of Ramgati and Kamalnagar Upazila, the soil and climate here are very suitable for betel nut cultivation. Farmers here are benefiting from betel nut plantations. Due to the right care at the right time, there has been a bumper yield of betel nuts in this upazila. Compared to the last few years, the price of raw and ripe betel nuts is slightly higher this time. Farmers are happy to get a good price. In Kamalnagar upazila, betel nuts have been planted on 119 hectares of land. The production target has been fixed at 595 MT. Its market value is 14 crore, 87 lakh, 50 thousand taka. And in Ramgati upazila, betel nuts are cultivated on 659 hectares of land. The market value of this has been fixed at around 24 crore 57 lakh rupees.
Those concerned said that in the month of Baisakh-Jyashtha, betel trees flower. Later, the betel nut produced from this flower ripens completely in the month of Kartik-Agrahayana. Basically, Kartik month and Agrahayan month are full seasons of betel nuts. But this time betel nuts have come into the market ahead of time. At the end of Ashwin month, betel nuts start coming to the market.
Now every market in the upazila is getting a lot of betel nuts. About 70 percent of the betel nuts here are soaked by local traders. And 30 percent of betel nuts are dried and stored in different districts of the country apart from supply. Farmers, householders, and small traders are happy to get good prices of raw and ripe betel nuts this year.
A few betel growers complained that many times the farmers are deprived of the fair price of betel nuts due to the lack of betel processing centers in Ramgati and Kamalnagar upazilas of Lakshmipur.
This year, at the beginning of the season, betel nuts are sold in Alexander, Ramdayal Bazar, Bibirhat, Ramgati Bazar, Azadnagar, Hajiganj, Banderhat, Zamindarhat, Char Sekantar, and Ashram in Ramgati Upazila, and Hazirhat, Karuna Nagar, Torabganj, and Fazumierhat in Kamalnagar Upazila. – bought
A few local markets can be seen; traders from different districts of the country, including Dhaka-Chittagong, are collecting betel nuts from local wholesalers as per their needs. This year, each betel nut (80) is being sold at Tk 130 to Tk 150, and each cown (1280) at Tk 27,000 to Tk 3,000, which is more than the last few years, the traders said. But this time the price of betel nuts in the market is higher than other years.
Betel nut farmers Humayun Kabir and Russell Sheikh of the Zamindarhat area of Ramgati Upazila said that the cost of betel nut production is low. It is enough to plant a tree once. The plant does not require much maintenance. More profit than other crops. As the demand is high, the expected price is also available.
Abul Khair and Ali Ahmed, betel nut farmers of Karuna Nagar area of Kamalnagar upazila, said that if the saplings are planted and taken care of properly, betel nut yields start coming within 6 to 7 years. But more yield after 10 to 12 years.
Ramgati Upazila Agriculture Officer Abu Saeed Tarek said that the farmers of this region are more inclined towards betel nut cultivation due to fewer pest and disease attacks in the betel plantations. The betel nuts produced here are going to different districts of the country, including Dhaka, Chittagong, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, and Srimangal, to meet the demand of the district.
Kamalnagar Upazila Agricultural Officer Agriculturist Md. Shaheen Rana said that betel nut production is also increasing in the region due to favorable weather conditions. Farmers are getting more profit compared to other crops due to the low cost of production.
