Sufal Bangla: Bankura’s record watermelon harvest reaches city

Kolkata: Bankura has achieved a record watermelon production of over 1,000 metric tons this summer, the highest ever in the district, with the yield reaching food lovers in Kolkata and its suburbs through the state’s Sufal Bangla initiative. Subhasis Batabyal, director of the State Horticulture Development Board, credited the success to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s intervention, ensuring farmers received fair prices by directly purchasing their produce and distributing it to urban markets. Batabyal noted that during the Covid period, when production was around 700 metric tons, farmers struggled to sell their yield. Banerjee’s directive enabled Sufal Bangla to facilitate sales, a strategy replicated this year.

The Horticulture department provided high-quality seeds, resulting in watermelons weighing 2.5 to 7.5 kg, with thin skins and sweet, red flesh. The harvest, spanning late April to early June, was cultivated across expanded areas including Khatra, Raipur, Sarenga, Hirabandh, Idhpur and Bishnupur. Farmers also exported watermelons to Dhanbad, Jamshedpur and Odisha, fetching good prices. Batabyal emphasised the seeds’ role as a game-changer and plans to advocate for their continued use at the Horticulture Board meeting to sustain this bumper yield of quality fruit. The state Assembly’s food steering committee, visiting Bankura, received watermelons and praised the record production, especially given the region’s dry, arid soil. The Sufal Bangla initiative not only ensured market access but also stabilized farmer incomes, reinforcing Bankura’s growing prominence in horticulture despite challenging soil conditions.