Basudeb Roy, Nilphamari Correspondent.
The lack of cold storage has become a major problem for potato farmers in Dimla Upazila of Nilphamari. As there is no government or private cold storage facility for storing potatoes, farmers are unable to store potatoes. Due to the lack of cold storage, a large portion of the potatoes produced are being wasted in the field. In addition, the farmers are facing extreme hardship due to the low price of potatoes.
According to the Agriculture Office, there are 11 cold storages in the district, with a capacity of 82,250 tons. This year, the target of potato production for farmers has been set at 5 lakh 5 thousand 770 tons. Potatoes have been cultivated on 21 thousand 990 hectares of land. Of this, 1 thousand 850 hectares of land have been cultivated in Dimla Upazila. However, there is no cold storage for storing potatoes in this Upazila.
It is seen on the ground that despite good potato yields, farmers are forced to sell potatoes at low prices due to the lack of cold storage. Some farmers are uncertain about how much profit they will make due to transportation and labor costs, even though they have arranged to store potatoes in cold storage in neighboring upazilas.
Local farmers claim that the construction of cold storage will allow them to store potatoes easily and thus create an opportunity to get a better price in the market. It will also reduce the violence of middlemen, which will be profitable for them.
Babul Islam, a potato farmer from Khalisha Chapani Union in the upazila, said, "Last year, I cultivated potatoes on 10 bighas of land and got a yield of 620 maunds. But due to the lack of cold storage, I had to sell the potatoes at a low price and kept some potatoes in cold storage in the neighboring upazila. But due to high transportation and labor costs, I ended up incurring losses."
Milon Mia, a potato farmer from Nautara Union, said, "The current market situation is bad. I haven't harvested the potatoes that are in the field yet. If I sell them at the current market price, I won't make a profit, let alone cover the cost of production. There is no cold storage for potatoes in our upazila, so the potatoes are still in the fields. I am worried about what to do with the potatoes."
Alamgir Hossain of Dimla Sadar Union said, "If there were cold storage, at least the farmers could have raised their production costs. But there is no cold storage, the price of potatoes is low. Where will we store the potatoes? So we are forced to sell them at a low price."
Dimla Upazila Agriculture Officer Mir Hasan Al Banna said, "Every year, potato production in this upazila exceeds the target. But due to the lack of cold storage, a huge amount of potatoes are wasted every year. The same situation has arisen this year too."
