Farmers in Dinajpur’s Phulbari upazila have begun planting early potatoes after harvesting Aman and Aus paddy, hoping strong prices at the start of the season will help them recover losses suffered in previous years.
Despite the risks, they are betting on early harvests to secure better prices before the main potato crop reaches the market.
Farmers were seen working in the fields from early morning, preparing the land, applying fertiliser and planting potatoes.
A large number of women are also working alongside men in land preparation and planting, creating more jobs and activity in the local labour market.
Male labourers are currently earning Tk500 to Tk600 a day in Phulbari, while female labourers are receiving Tk350 to Tk400.
According to the Upazila Agricultural Extension Office, a target has been set to cultivate potatoes on 1,480 hectares of land in the upazila this season.
Of the total, 750 hectares have been earmarked for early potato cultivation, with a production target of 16,500 tonnes.
After harvesting short-duration paddy varieties, farmers are mainly planting several high-yielding potato varieties, including Asterix and Romano.
Farmers said early potato cultivation requires relatively high investment at the beginning of the season because of land leasing costs, seed, fertiliser, land preparation and labour expenses.
Abdul Jabbar, a contract farmer from Debipur village under Shibnagar union, said he had leased two bighas of land for Tk40,000 and started cultivation.
He hopes a good early harvest will allow him to recover his investment and earn a reasonable profit.
Saiful Islam, a farmer from Koyrakol village in the same union, said he sold early potatoes for Tk60 per kg at the beginning of last season and made a profit of around Tk30,000 per bigha.
Encouraged by that experience, he has planted early potatoes on 40 decimals of land this year.
But not every farmer has had the same experience.
Rafiqul Islam, a farmer from Amrabari village under Khayerbari union, said he suffered losses from potato cultivation over the past two years.
Even so, he has taken the risk again this season, hoping an early crop will help him recover some of those losses.
Farmers said the success of early potato cultivation largely depends on favourable weather and prices during the first weeks of harvesting.
Heavy rain, crop diseases or a sudden fall in prices can make it hard for farmers to recover their production costs.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Saif Abdullah Mostafin said Phulbari is among the areas where early potato cultivation and harvesting begin earlier than in most parts of the country.
“Potatoes from here reach markets across the country at the beginning of the season, giving farmers an opportunity to secure better prices,” he said.
He added that the Department of Agricultural Extension was providing farmers with necessary advice and technical support.
If weather conditions remain favourable and farmers receive fair prices, early potato cultivation could help them recover losses from previous seasons, he said.
