The garlic growers got fair prices for the kitchen item in the last few seasons which encouraged them to cultivate the cash crop this time, too.
According to the upazila agriculture office, garlic was cultivated on around 35 hectares of land at Khalia village of Rajganji in the upazila. Besides, a good number of farmers at Hanua, Jhanpa and Chaluahati villages cultivated the crop.
It said there will be a bumper production if there is no natural disaster.
Several farmers of Khalia village said they spent around Tk 50,000, including labour wages, fertiliser and irrigation, to grow garlic on each acre of land.
If everything goes well, they can harvest 55-60 maunds of garlic from each acre, they said.
The kitchen item is selling at Tk 3,000 per maund, Abdul Karim, a farmer of the village, said, adding that they can earn a net profit of Tk 70,000-80,000 per acre excluding all the costs, including harvesting and marketing ones.
He said more farmers in the area are now cultivating garlic for its fair price at the local market.
Sushanta Kumar Tarafdar, additional deputy director of Jashore Department of Agricultural Extension, said the crop is being cultivated in large swathes due to good yield and fair prices. “There’s a favourable weather. If it continues, the area will witness a bumper garlic production this season,” he said.