Bangladesh: Rajshahi turmeric farming falls amid repeated losses

Turmeric cultivation in Rajshahi is decreasing by the day as farmers are turning away from the spice after incurring repeated losses. Turmeric farmers in the district blamed the tendency to import the spice, instead of incentivizing the local producers. Turmeric farmers recalled a time when an entire field of turmeric was farmed, resulting in bumper production. Prices were good as well. But now, most farmers cultivate turmeric as a companion crop in mango gardens. As a result, volume of turmeric production in the district has significantly decreased. Complaining that wholesale prices do not cover production costs, farmers spoke about incurring losses as the lion's share of locally used turmeric is imported from India and Myanmar. Where 100 maunds of raw turmeric was produced per bigha of land, this has now decreased to 60-70 maunds. Most farmers cultivate turmeric as a companion crop on highlands, fallow lands and backyards. According to sources, around 15,000 to 16,000 farmers ...