How a bountiful harvest can end up hurting farmers

Despite a bumper harvest, cauliflower farmers in Manikganj district are facing significant financial losses this season due to a supply glut.

While cauliflower prices remain high in other parts of the country, including Dhaka, farmers in Manikganj are struggling to recover production costs. Wholesale buyers are unwilling to pay previous rates because of the abundance in supply, which drags prices down.

Farmers report that the production cost for each cauliflower exceeds Tk10 but they are now forced to sell them for only Tk2 to Tk3 per piece.

Agriculture officers attribute the crisis to unexpected rainfall, which has caused a surplus in production compared to market demand.

They believe proper storage facilities could have helped mitigate the losses, as they would be able to regulate the supply in line with demand.

Many farmers expanded cauliflower cultivation this year, encouraged by good profits in previous seasons. Early winter cauliflower fetched prices as high as Tk 30 to Tk 40 per piece, but prices have now plummeted to Tk2 to Tk3, leaving growers to bear substantial financial losses.

Farmers explain that cultivating one bigha of land costs approximately Tk30,000 to Tk35,000.

This includes expenses for seedlings (Tk12,000), plowing (Tk3,000), daily labor (Tk1,200), fertilizers and pesticides (Tk 5,000), and annual land leases (Tk20,000). The current prices mean they are incurring huge losses.

Farmers share their plight

Bashir Ahmed, a farmer of Airamara village in Saturia upazila, said he earned good profits from cauliflower cultivation last year. Encouraged, he planted cauliflower on 18 bighas of land this year. While he earned around Tk15 lakh from early-harvested cauliflower from 10 bighas, the crop on the remaining 8 bighas is rotting in the fields due to lack of buyers. 

"Some of the cauliflowers are being fed to cattle," he lamented.

Abdur Rashid, a farmer of Dhakuli village in Sadar upazila, cultivated cauliflower on 50 bighas of land this year. "I spent Tk30,000 to Tk35,000 per bigha, but I am now forced to sell each cauliflower for just Tk2 to Tk3," he said, estimating losses of Tk30 to Tk35 lakh.

Nakim Uddin Bepari of Meghshimul village said, "The cauliflowers on my two bighas of land are ready for sale, but I cannot afford the labor and transportation costs as they exceed the selling price.

Idris Ali, a trader who buys cauliflowers in advance from farmers and supplies them to wholesale markets, said he recently purchased 78,200 cauliflowers but is now forced to sell them at Tk2 to Tk3 per piece, incurring substantial losses.

Another trader, Babul, shared that he had made advance purchases of cauliflowers from approximately 100 acres of farmland in Saturia upazila, paying Tk15 per piece. "I have suffered losses of around Tk8 lakh," he said.

Agriculture Officials' Perspective

Agriculture officials blame the surplus on unusual weather conditions this year. Unseasonal cold and rainfall delayed the timely planting of cauliflowers, leading to simultaneous cultivation across the country and a subsequent supply glut, they explained.

Dr Rabiah Noor, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Manikganj, said, "Excess production has created challenges for farmers. We always advise them to diversify their crops instead of focusing on a single one. Unfortunately, driven by high initial prices, many farmers cultivated cauliflower simultaneously. Growing early, mid-season, and late varieties could have mitigated this issue."