MAGURA, Mar 11: Okra cultivation has turned fortune wheel of a good number of farmers in the district.
Low production cost and high market demand have encouraged the growers to cultivate the short-duration vegetable on a large tract of land.
Sources said growers are expecting a profit of Tk38 million from the produce this season.
Sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Magura, said okra was cultivated on 105 hectares of land in the district this year with the production target of 833 tonnes.
Farmer Gobinda Joarder of Ramnagar village under Magura Sadar said newly-harvested okra is now selling at Tk 60 per kg in the local market.
"This year I have cultivated the item on two bighas of land. I expect to make Tk 0.1 million profit this year", the grower added.
Mihir Nandi of Bunagati village under Shalikha upazila said, "Traders have started visiting our fields frequently to purchase the produce."
Vegetable trader Tilam Hossein of the district said newly-harvested okra has started appearing in the market.
Locally-produced okra is also sent to different districts due to high demand.
Magura DAE official Badrul Ahsan said a bumper production of okra has been achieved in the district this season.
Growers are also happy as they get fair prices.
