Winter veg seedlings bring hopes for entrepreneurs

Joypurhat Correspondent :

In Parulia village of Joypurhat, nurseries are becoming a hub for agricultural seedlings. Entrepreneurs in the district are cultivating winter vegetable seedlings with hopes of earning millions of taka in sales. Due to the high quality of seedlings, they are supplying not only within the district but also to neighboring districts.
The entrepreneurs said that with government support, the production of quality vegetable seedlings would increase, and expanding nurseries could play a key role in reducing unemployment. The District Agriculture Department has also announced plans to provide various types of assistance.
There are over a hundred nurseries in the district. This season, each nursery expects to earn between 1 to 4 lakh taka, with the total sales in the district likely exceeding several million taka.
Joypurhat is a leading district in rice and potato cultivation but is also making significant progress in other vegetables. This Rabi season, winter vegetables are planned to be cultivated on 4,730 hectares, and local entrepreneurs are taking full advantage of the opportunity.
On the ground, workers can be seen tending to seedlings in the nurseries. Small nurseries are growing cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, tomato, chili, onion, and other winter vegetable seedlings. Seedlings are sold for 1 to 5 taka per piece, generating good profits. Local buyers, as well as farmers from neighboring districts, purchase these seedlings. While the business continues throughout the year, sales peak during the winter season.
Entrepreneur Bitish Chandra Mondal from Gonkabari, Sadar, said, “I have been in the seedling business since 1972. This season, I am selling 100 onion seedlings for 50 taka, 100 cabbage seedlings for 100 taka, 100 cauliflower seedlings for 100-120 taka, tomatoes for 200 taka, and chili for 300 taka. Winter seedlings sell the most.”
Another entrepreneur, Mrityunjoy Chandra, said, “My nursery has 10 types of seedlings including eggplant, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, chili, bottle gourd, and pumpkin. Seedlings are sold for 1 to 5 taka per piece. Farmers from Joypurhat and other districts come to buy them. During winter, my nursery expects around 3 lakh taka in profit.”
Abdul Hamid of Parulia village added, “Seedling business is very profitable. Farmers come from far and wide. There are almost a hundred nurseries in Joypurhat. If we received advice or support from the agriculture department, we could expand further.”
Mamunur Rashid of Parulia said, “Several vegetable nurseries have been established in our area. Quality seedlings are available here. We bought seedlings for cultivation on our land-this year, 20pc of the land for onions and 15pc for cabbage.”
Jahangir Hossain, a farmer from Dhamurhat, Naogaon, said, “I came to buy eggplant and cabbage seedlings. I purchased 500 seedlings. The quality here is excellent, and yields are good.”