Magura Correspondent

Farmers in Sreepur upazila of Magura are increasingly rejecting jute seeds supplied by the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), citing longer maturation periods, excessive height, entanglement issues and poor yields.

Despite the government's push to promote BADC-distributed seeds, a significant number of farmers have instead turned to Indian-origin varieties such as Sebayan JRO 524, Chakra-marked JRO 524 and Shankha-marked seeds, which they say perform better in local conditions.

This season, jute has been cultivated on approximately 9,150 hectares of land across the upazila.

Farmers generally receive jute seeds and chemical fertilisers from two key sources—the Upazila Agriculture Office and the Upazila Jute Department.

For this season, the Agriculture Office distributed 1,530 one-kg packets of seeds, while the Jute Department provided another 2,400 packets.

Jamal Molla from Kamalapur village and Bokkar Molla from Ghasiara village reported that jute grown from BADC seeds tends to grow excessively tall and turns reddish, resulting in weak fibre that easily entangles, complicating the harvesting process.

They also noted that yields drop if the crop is harvested at the usual time.

Golam Ali, another farmer from the area, criticised the overall system: “Every year, the government distributes crores worth of BADC seeds, but they are practically of no use to farmers. It’s high time this issue was reconsidered.”

Kadirpara Union Parishad Chairman Ayub Hossain Khan said that despite using loudspeakers to urge farmers to collect the government-supplied seeds, very few responded. Most of the distributed packets now remain unused in storage.

Acknowledging the situation, Upazila Agriculture Officer Salma Jahan Nipa explained that BADC seeds require a longer life cycle—120 to 125 days—compared to the typical 90 to 95 days for other varieties, which may account for the farmers’ reluctance.

Similarly, Upazila Jute Officer Mohammad Saddam Hossain noted that fibre from BADC seeds takes longer to mature and strengthen. Since farmers often prefer early harvesting to accommodate follow-up crops, they cut the jute prematurely, leading to the reported issues.

He added that efforts such as workshops are ongoing to raise awareness among farmers about the importance of timely harvesting, though success has been limited so far.