Farmers, particularly the commercial ones, have started selling green tomatoes to get more money in the region, including its vast Barind area, for the last couple of days.

Many of the consumers are purchasing the newly harvested vegetable at exorbitant prices for its taste.In the present wholesale markets, the hybrid variety green tomatoes are being sold at Taka 1,800 to 2,000 per mound while it's being sold at Taka 160 to170 per kilogram in the retail markets.Among other upazilas, Godagari is the pioneer for tomato farming and production production as its topography is suitable for the cash crop farming.Suitable climatic conditions and marketing systems have inclined theinterests of the farmers to a greater extent.

Umme Salma, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said tomatoes were cultivated on 3600 hectares of land, including 2,245 hectares in Godagariin the district last year.A lot of farmers have already changed their fortunes through tomatocultivation in the region as they earn between Taka 40,000 to Taka 50,000 bycultivating the popular cooking items on each bigha of land at a season.She said hundreds of youth in Godagariupazila have become self-reliant by cultivating tomato.

ShamsulAlam, a wholesale vegetable trader at Shaheb Bazar, said trading of green tomatoes has been going on for the last couple of days. Some of the traders are selling the vegetable in local markets and many others are supplying to different divisional cities, including the capital Dhaka. MahmudulFaruque, additional director of the DAE, said tomato farming is gaining popularity in the region, particularly in the vast tract of Barind area, since its cultivation is profitable here. Cultivation of the cash crop has increased by five to six times during the last 15 to 20 years due to the introduction of high-yielding and hybrid varieties of tomatoes and modern technology.In the current season, the cash crop has brought smiles on the faces of the farmers as they are getting expected yield and market price since the very beginning of the harvesting period. The tomatoes produced without chemicals are being sent to different districts including the capital (Dhaka) after meeting the local demands.MahmudulFaruque said more than one lakh families in the region are now getting direct financial benefit from either cultivating tomato or itstrading.trading.