An unhappy Pahela Falgun and Valentine’s Day for flower farmers
After two bad years, flower farmers were banking on Pahela Falgun, Valentine’s Day and Ekushay February this year to turn things around. And then came Omicron…
Abdur Rashid of Jashore owns a 250-decimal land on which, for the last 30 years, he has grown a variety of flowers – marigold, double tuberose, gladiolus etc.
But when we visited him last week, most of the land had now been converted for rice farming. Rashid had never imagined he would live to see this day. But the pandemic has left him bereft of options.
"During the first wave, I incurred a loss of Tk6 lakh. In the second, I thought I would make up the loss, but then I incurred a loss of Tk2.5 lakh again," said 45-year-old, standing on the edge of a marigold field of Chandpur village in Jhikargacha, Jashore.
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"As a result, this year I cultivated only marigold on just 30 decimals of land."
Not just Abdul Rashid, many flower farmers across the country have stopped cultivating flowers after incurring losses in the first two waves of Covid-19. They are now cultivating rice, vegetables and other crops, instead of flowers. The future of flower farming, at least for now, looks bleak.
There are around 6,000 farmers in Jhikargacha who cultivate roses, tuberoses, gladiolus, gerbera and tulip flowers, on approximately 600 hectares of land. Some of them directly supply to flower traders in Dhaka, while some small-scale farmers sell the flowers in the Godkhali wholesale flower market.
Flower farmers and businessmen eagerly wait for the peak season, which usually begins from December 16, Victory Day, and lasts till the Independence Day on March 26. This year the farmers had high hopes. But the spike in infection due to Omicron has slashed their dreams to bits and pieces.
The flower business reaches its peak on special days over the five months. As much as 70 percent of the flowers are sold when Victory Day, New Year's, Pahela Falgun, Valentine's Day, Independence Day and Pahela Boishakh are celebrated across the country. In winter, marriage ceremonies also trigger a rise in the sale of flowers.
Flower traders say that the total market size of the business in the country is around Tk1,200 crore now. Of which, the contribution of Gadkhali in Jhikargacha alone is Tk400 crore. Around 6,000 people are flower farmers in Jashore.
Those who have already cultivated flowers this year are bracing for losses over the two major events: Valentine's Day and the International Mother Language Day, due to Covid-19 restrictions. From the planting of seeds to harvesting of flowers, it usually takes 90 days. When farmers planted seeds around 90 days back, the pandemic was in retreat.
"Those who targeted Valentine's Day or the International Mother Language Day will completely lose everything," said another farmer Altaf Hossain.
Masud Hossain Polash, Upazila Agriculture Officer of Jhikargacha believes that due to persistent losses, many farmers have quit flower cultivation last year. Before the pandemic, 630 hectares of land were occupied by flower gardens. Since last year, farmers have restricted cultivation to around only 50 hectares of land.
"If the situation continues and people do not go out on Valentine's Day and the International Mother Language Day, many flower farmers will be destroyed," said Upazila Agriculture Officer Masud Hossain Polash.
The year before, many farmers had to throw away flowers because the demand had nosedived. There are fears of a repeat this year as well as flowers are quickly perishable.
"You can keep double tuberose in the field for some time, but there is no question of keeping marigolds and gladiolas in the field for too long. It is very risky to do that," said Rashid.
Abdur Rahim, one of the leaders of Bangladesh Flower Society, the national trade body of flower farmers and businessmen, said the price of different varieties of flower have already come down since the announcement of the Omicron related restrictions.
He said that before the spread of the Omicron infection, one hundred tuberoses used to sell for Tk800 to Tk900 at the wholesale market in Godkhali. Now the price has come down to Tk300 to Tk400 only.
The price of one hundred sticks of gerbera flowers used to be between Tk800 to Tk1,500. Now the price of the same number of sticks has come down to Tk400-Tk500.
The price of one hundred roses is Tk700 to Tk800. The sale of roses, however, is still good because the import of roses has now ceased.
The price of flowers will depend on the demand for flowers during Valentine's Day and the International Mother Language Day. If cultural programmes and schools, colleges and universities reopen, the farmers will make some money.
"If the restriction holds till Valentine's Day and the International Mother Language Day, the price of the flowers will fall even further," said flower farmers' leader Abdur Rahim last week. Otherwise, some flowers will wilt right in the field.
