Capsicum on 40 decimals for Tk 70,000, Tk 1.3 lakh sold; but no local market
A young farmer on the Jamuna char in Islampur, Jamalpur, learned capsicum from YouTube and has sold Tk 1.3 lakh of it. With no local buyers, he must carry it to Karwan Bazar in Dhaka.
A young agricultural entrepreneur from Chengania village, Sapdhari union, Islampur upazila, Jamalpur, studied up to class ten. He was inspired to grow capsicum by watching YouTube videos. On 40 decimals of land on the Jamuna char, where various crops used to be grown, he brought improved-variety seed from Bogura and started; this cost him Tk 70,000. The family does most of the garden work themselves, so costs stayed low. The plants give sellable capsicum in about two and a half months, each weighing around 250 grams. According to Prothom Alo, Tk 1.3 lakh worth has already been sold, and the field still holds at least Tk 1.5 lakh worth. The problem is that people in the area are not used to eating capsicum, so it does not sell in local markets. He had to carry it to Karwan Bazar in Dhaka and sell at Tk 4,000 to 8,000 a maund, which wastes both time and money. This is the first commercial capsicum farming in the upazila, and the upazila agriculture office is advising him.
Lessons
- 1.Before taking up a new crop, check whether local people eat it; if not, count the cost of sending it to a distant market.
- 2.Working the garden yourselves cuts labour cost; 40 decimals were grown for Tk 70,000.
- 3.High-value vegetables sell fast, but without buyers lined up first, transport eats the profit.
We published this with the person's permission, without revealing who they are.
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