Melon farmers start online sales during coronavirus shutdown

Melon farmers in Gopalganj's Kotalipara have resorted to using the internet to keep their livelihoods afloat after a worsening coronavirus crisis brought Bangladesh to a standstill.

Farmers in remote villages are now trading their cantaloupe and watermelon harvests via an online platform thanks to an initiative taken by Kotalipara Upazila Nirbahi Officer SM Mahfuzur Rahman, reports bdnews24.com.

Rover Scout members from Kotalipara Sheikh Lutfor Rahman Ideal Government College came forward to implement the initiative in an effort to keep the farmers economically active while maintaining social distance, said UNO Mahfuzur.

Under the initiative, volunteer scouts stationed in Kaliganj are connecting farmers and prospective buyers online to work out a deal, said Kalabari Union Parishad Chairman Michael Ojha.

Cantaloupes and watermelons have been farmed across 650 hectares of land in Kalabari union for the last 25 years, yielding about Tk 2 billion from sales each year, according to Ojha.

But the novel coronavirus crisis hit the country at a time when the melon harvesting season had just begun, he said. As the outbreak intensified, the local administration moved to impose a lockdown in Gopalganj with the resulting ban on transport ruining any scope for trade.

Under the circumstances, the online trading platform has been a great boon to farmers who would otherwise be reeling from the shutdown, according to traders and local representatives.

Buyers pay the farmers digitally through bKash, bank transfer or other online payment services. After that, trucks registered by the scouts are allowed to enter the market and load the produce.

Thus, the melon trade remains intact while complying with the social distancing rules.

The online trading kicked off on Apr 17 with farmers selling Tk 2 million worth of cantaloupes and watermelons on the first day.

Since then, produce worth about Tk 2.5 million has been sold daily, he said.

The price, however, is now almost half of what it was last year despite a bumper harvest this year, according to Bijoy Biswas, a farmer from Noluya village.

 “It is better to sell at lower prices than have no sale at all. Initially, we couldn’t sell the cantaloupes or watermelons as there weren't any buyers. But now the UNO has arranged an online trading platform for us which has helped a lot," he told bdnews24.com.

"Although we’re a bit worried about repaying our debts to NGOs and loan sharks, we may get over it if all of our produce is sold.”

Biren Adhikari from Kalabari village is another farmer who welcomed the initiative.

The farmers are using the website tarmuzbazar.com without having to contend with any middleman, said Nayan Mahmud, leader of the Rover Scout team.

Many believe the process can be emulated elsewhere in the country as well.

 “Selling cantaloupes and watermelons digitally is a novel idea. Farmers are benefiting from it during the lockdown. People will be able to sell their agro-products safely during the lockdown if this process is followed,” said Arobindu Kumar Roy, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Gopalganj.