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Jute is a type of dicotyledonous fibrous tree. Its bark contains fibers and sticks inside. In ancient times it was called Nalita. Some people think that jute originated in South China and Africa. Its cultivation in India started as a garden plant. At first it was used as a vegetable and medicinal plant. However, the use of jute as a textile is very old. Jute was produced in the Gangetic delta region of Bangladesh about three thousand years ago. Gradually its production and use has increased and jute has become a major cash crop for the farmers of this country. The golden fiber jute has merged into the Bengali tradition and existence. In the 90's, jute was grown in 12 lakh hectares of land in Bangladesh. In about 30-40 years, the area of jute decreases to 4.0-4.5 lakh hectares. But with the realization of the demand and necessity of natural fiber for various reasons, the area under jute cultivation has increased to about 7-8 lakh hectares till 2010-15. Not only that, as a result of the use of advanced technology, the amount of jute that could be obtained from the previous 12 lakh hectare area is now being obtained from 6.0-7.0 lakh hectare land or more. It is to be noted that at that time about 60-65 lakh bales of jute could be obtained from 12 lakh hectares and recently only 64 lakh bales are being found in only 6.0-7.0 lakh hectares of land. Moreover, Bangladesh is the only exporter of raw jute fiber in the world. Jute is produced in almost all the districts of Bangladesh. However, the highest production of jute is in Faridpur, Jessore, Sirajganj, Bogra, Tangail, Jamalpur and Dhaka districts. Earlier, the production of jute in single land was less but now it has increased due to the development of advanced technology. In 1989-80, the average yield of jute in this country was 1.26 ton / ha, which increased to 1.98 ton / ha in 2007-08, which is now 2.01 ton / ha. The soil and climate of this country is very suitable for jute production, farmers are very accustomed and more interested in jute cultivation.
Comparatively speaking, despite the decline in foreign exchange earnings from jute, Bangladeshi jute still dominates the world market. Bangladeshi raw jute is mainly exported to India, Pakistan, China, Europe, Ivory Coast, Thailand and other countries. On the other hand, jute products are exported to Europe, Turkey, Iran, America, Syria, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Sudan, Ghana and other countries. Pakistan, China and India are the top importers of our raw jute and Europe and Turkey are the top importers of jute products. This is because the use of polythene and synthetics is now being discouraged worldwide by environmentalists, while polythene and synthetics are harmful to the environment while jute is environmentally friendly. So its demand is increasing worldwide. At one point, Jute fell behind in the synthetic competition. Now the situation is changing. So we need to be very active in capturing the growing international market for jute.
Jute farmers in different districts and divisions of the country are now satisfied with the production and market price of jute. In the middle of June-July 2017, especially in the local hat bazaar of Rajshahi, jute was sold at Rs. At present, the demand for jute is increasing again as a result of environmental awareness. The jute business is always booming. Raw jute is procured in different stages. In order to deliver it to the consumers, the first step is to buy jute fiber from the farmer's house or village market. Warehouse owners and jute traders buy the second step from them. In the third stage jute is procured from jute mills in Narayanganj / Khulna. In the fourth stage or the last stage jute or fiber products are shipped to the export market. Beyond these steps, some marketing and processing costs have to be calculated. The jute farmer gets a very small share of the profit as the farmer cannot share in a large part of the price paid by the consumer at each stage.
Prevention of immigration at the farmer level
At present, due to the environment, there is a possibility of increasing the demand for jute and increasing the production at the same time. Although jute is a very important crop considering its socio-economic importance, due to various problems and obstacles such as lack of agricultural land, reluctance of farmers for price, marketing of fiber and misery of jute mills, the jute crop of this country is not reaching its desired goal. About 3% of Bangladesh's total foreign exchange comes from jute and its contribution to the country's GDP is about 3%. Every year the farmers get about 2500 crore rupees by selling jute fiber and jute chalk. About 4 million farmers of this country are involved in the process of jute crop production. In addition, raw jute and jute products are being considered as a major source of revenue for Bangladesh's exports. Jute crop is playing a huge supporting role in the employment of the country from rural to urban areas. About 20% of the total population is involved in jute cultivation and various post-cultivation processes such as processing, fiber weaving, warehousing, transportation / relocation and marketing. Involvement of female members of farming families in jute fiber removal, washing and drying is a rare example of female employment in the country. The money from the sale of jute fiber plays a huge role in the rural economy, improving the social conditions in the rural areas and providing financial support for the subsequent cultivation of rabi crops. Therefore, farmers involved in jute cultivation do not have to relocate to other occupations or elsewhere to earn a living. They think that they have cash in hand if they have jute in their possession. In any case, the farmer can meet his daily needs by selling jute at any time. Therefore, there is no pair of jute crop production to prevent migration at the farmer level.
Rural development in jute production
At present the number of jute farmers in Bangladesh is 4 million. The jute sector contributes 0.26 percent to GDP and agriculture 1.4 percent to GDP. 12.5 percent of the total labor force is engaged in jute production. There are 1 lakh 75 thousand 500 workers involved in jute industry. Of these, government agency BJMC employs about 40 per cent and private companies BJSA and BJMA employ 80 per cent workers. About 4.5 percent of the total export income is earned from jute exports. After the readymade garment industry, jute is the second largest export sector in the country. About a quarter of the total foreign exchange earned from jute comes from raw jute exports. Jute is providing cash for the farmers of the country. Repayment of money from moneylenders or banks, cost of education of children, marriage of children, wife's sari, jewelery, buying land in the city are all done with the money from the sale of jute to the farmers. As a result, they no longer have to sell jute at a lower price at the beginning of the season. Farmers are now able to save that jute and sell it at a higher price, now they are becoming self-sufficient. In this way, if farmers' organizations are formed all over the country, the cycle of foragers will be broken. Then farmers will not have to sell jute at the price of water. As a result, it is easy to see that in jute production, development takes place in the capacity of the farmer as well as rural economic development.