For Dacope's watermelon farmers, harvest doesn't always hit the sweet spot

In late January, in a disaster-prone upazila of Khulna, Dacope, we were on a quest to know more about the mechanics of the rural economy. We reached out to Chalna Degree College teacher Apurba Sarker and asked what is the main economic instrument of Dacope? He instantly replied, "Watermelons." 

And many of the local residents answered the same. 

After the devastating cyclone Aila in 2009, most of the one-crop paddy fields became infertile due to excessive salinity. Farmers, however, have adapted cultivation of the salinity-tolerant watermelon as a cash crop. 

Photo: TBS

Part-time deed writer Mohammad Abbas, intervening in our conversation, strongly disagreed, "Watermelon cultivation pushes many farmers to poverty." 

Perhaps, he made this assessment, keeping the dull season last year in mind.    

The next day, we talked to farmers directly. 

In 2021, 39-year-old Pabitra Bishwas of Kalikabadhi village harvested good produce and made a profit from his 12-bigha watermelon farm.

Pabitra Bishwas is monitoring field preparation during late January. Photo: TBS

Next year, he and his two childhood friends jointly invested Tk24 lakh in watermelon cultivation on a 80-bigha of land. Fifty percent of the capital investment was sourced from an NGO loan. 

"Unfortunately, almost all the investment went in vain. Some crops were damaged by pest attacks in the field while the harvested watermelons couldn't fetch even half of the money we had invested," Pabitra said.

For this ongoing season that started in late January, Pabitra remains cautious. His watermelon farming has shrunk to 12-bigha land with an investment of no more than Tk2.5 lakh.  

As the salinity-hit floodplain offers comparatively less fresh-and-brackish water fish and the cropland allows paddy cultivation once a year, watermelon cultivation seemed a lucrative business to farmers across Dacope until the 2022 season. 

According to Dacope Upazila Administrative Office, around Tk1,600-worth watermelons were sold from the upazila in 2021. 

In Dacope, watermelon is cultivated mainly in five unions: Dacope headquarters, Baniashanta, Laudob, Kailashganj and Bajua. Bajua Tarmuj (watermelons of Bajua) is famous across the country. 

Eying for profit, farmer Abani Mistri invested Tk2.5 lakh last year to produce watermelon on a 9-bigha land. To grow more crops, he leased three-fourths of the farmland. 

Of Abani's investment, his wife Aarati collected Tk1.5 lakh from an NGO. 

"The wholesale price fell sharply. I couldn't make a profit. Instead, I had to sell the crops in the wholesale market at half price," Aarati said. 

Her husband somehow repaid the debt with the NGO. But the payment of fertilizer is still due. 

Aarati said, "For this season, my husband will grow watermelon on only 2-bigha land. As we lost all of our capital money, I have taken a loan from the NGO again. If the harvest is good and we can make a profit, I will repay the debts with the NGO and the fertilizer shop."

Dacope Upazila Agricultural Officer KM Maksudunnabi said, "Farmers incurred losses because their production surpluses the market demand." 

In 2022, farmers sowed seeds lately due to untimely rain and the fruits didn't mature before the Ramadan month that year. Ramadan month is the peak season for juicy watermelon marketing and sales. 

Maksudunnabi pointed to some other reasons. "Pest attacks damaged crops. Besides, farmers unaware of the quality products sowed counterfeited seeds," Maksudunnabi said. 

Usually, farmers collect hybrid seeds imported from India. The agricultural officer suspected that local private distributors might have sold counterfeited seeds. 

For the Dacope-based watermelon farmers, shipment of harvested crops that follows a labyrinth route and high transport costs are hurdles for marketing their products. 

Although the straight distance between the watermelon farming zones and the port town Mongla is not more than 12km (Kalikabadhi locates only 5km west of Mongla), watermelon-carrying vehicles had to cross more than one tributary by irregular ferries to reach Digraj – the wholesale hub from where watermelons were supplied to Dhaka. 

"In many cases, the fruits perished on the road," Maksudunnabi said.

The road communication network around Dacope is considerably more fragile than the other places. On a regular basis, natural disasters like tidal surges damage the roads. 

"Large trucks cannot run on Kalikabadhi roads. Last year, shipments of 800 pieces of watermelons from my farm to Digraj (Mongla) took Tk15,000," said farmer Rajib Mondal.

In October, the Roads and Highways division opened a ferry terminal at Laudob to shorten the route between the watermelon farming zones and Mongla. 

"With the start of the Laudob ferry terminal, we will transport the same amount of fruits at Tk3,000," Rajib said. 

According to the Dacope's Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Office, watermelons were cultivated on 7,605 hectares of land last year. The coverage was 3,407 hectares and 1,535 hectares in 2021 and 2020 respectively. 

Although the farmers, motivated by DAE, tried salinity-tolerant watermelon seeds a few years after the cyclone Aila, cultivation of the particular fruits gained momentum in 2019. 

However, the flip side of the particular agricultural extension is that it created a crisis in irrigation as the 'cash crop' consumes gallons of brackish water.

Dacope Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mintu Bishwas said that this a pride from the local people that the country-famous 'Bajua Tarmuj' (watermelons of Bajua union) are produced in the upazila. 

"But this watermelon cultivation is also responsible for the acute water crisis in the area. Farmers pump out huge amounts of water from ponds – the usual sources of household water. As a result, a drought-like situation persists in the dry season. People have to collect water from Khulna," Mintu said in an interview. 

Rice production, even with the salinity-tolerant varieties, requires much more irrigation than watermelon. That's why the DAE officials still consider watermelon cultivation, instead of rice, as feasible in the area.  

To facilitate the cultivation of the 'cash crop,' the Upazila Administration has prepared a list of 140 canals for restoration. Higher officials are already informed about the list. So far, around 30% of the listed canals are restored with the support from other state-run agencies, said Dacope UNO. 

"If the canals are dredged for building rainwater storage capacity, irrigation for watermelon will be eased. And it is expected that agricultural production of the area will be increased by three times," Mintu said. 

However, the watermelon farmers demanded that the government sharpen market surveillance so that they can afford quality seeds, fertilizers and transport at fair prices. 

Parliament member from a reserved seat, Gloria Jharna Sarker, who initiated the opening of the Laudob ferry terminal, said that she will raise the issue before the authorities concerned.