& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Betel leaf gives breath to lives in Jhenidah

AZIBOR Rahman, Jhenidah
Betel leaf farming in Jhenidah has helped farmers make their life much easier than before, as such leaves of the district are being exported to the Middle East and other countries.
"Jute was the only cash crop for Bangladesh but now betel leaf has replaced jute as the country exports around 3,113 tonnes of betel leaves annually to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and many Middle East countries," said Md Altaf Hossain, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension.
In the district, the leaves were cultivated in six upazilas in 1,606 hectares of land this season.
In the current 2009-10 season, 110 hectares of land in Sadar upazila, 70 hectares in Kotchandpur upazila, 296 hectares in Shailakupa > upazila and 800 hectares in Harinakundo upazila were used for betel leaf cultivation.
The lands were 108 hectares, 46 hectares, 280 hectares and 1,116 hectares respectively in the last season.
Kaliganj upazila and Maheshpur upazila cultivated around 315 and 15 hectares respectively in both the seasons.
There are around two lakh people in the business surrounding 15,000 growers in the district.
Around 20 truckloads of leaves are supplied to different pans of Bangladesh from Harinakundo upazila, while the other five upazilas provide 10 truckloads everyday.
Jamal Uddin, a farmer in
Harinakundo upazila, said spiralling prices of oil cakes, one of the items needed for betel leaf cultivation, are holding back their progress.
He also said they get less fertiliser compared to the traditional crop growers.
"Betel leaf cultivation requires a long lime. The farmers have to spend around Tk 50,000 for a gar-
den of one-bigha land and it lasts for 10-12 years once its fence is made," said Khokon Tagor, a farmer in Kaliganj upazila.
Some rot diseases of the plant in root, leaf and steam cause a huge loss to the farmers every year but any official from the DAE has not yet assisted them for a single day, Tagor said.
The root rot disease spread violently in Kaliganj upazila this year, he added.
Betel leaf trader Ashraful Alam said he bought betel worth around Tk 1.5 lakh, which will be supplied to Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Srimangal, Laksham, Feni and Miarbazar.
Saroj BLswas, joint secre-tary of Central Betel Leaf
Cultivation Association, said the farmers hardly get any help from the regional agriculture office.
"There are four betel leaf markets in Harinakundo, three in Kaliganj, two in Shailakupa and two in Kotchandpur. The government gets at least Tk 15 lakh in revenue from these markets annually, "hesaid.
"Government assistance for the business might help the farmers make more profits," said a leader of the association.
Alimuzzaman, Kaliganj upazila agriculture officer, said they visit the gardens when informed.
He said betel leaf cultivation is increasing day by day, as it is more profitable.