RANGPUR, Mar 30, 2019 (BSS) – Pumpkin cultivation on char lands has improved agro-economy in char areas of Rangpur agriculture region bringing fortune to over 42,000 have-nots group landless char families in last ten years.
Repeated bumper pumpkin production with lucrative price has changed
livelihoods of char people including women of some 300 char villages in the
region though they led miserable lives due to abject poverty even a decade
ago.
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and different
NGOs said cultivation of pumpkin began on sandbars in the silted-up beds of
different rivers in all five districts of the region since 2009.
With assistance of DAE, Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB), RDRS Bangladesh
and other NGOs promoted sandbar pumpkin cultivation on silted-up riverbeds to
change fortune of thousands of extremely poor char families.
Taking to BSS, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS
Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said they extended assistance to over 20,000 poor
char families with DAE support for expanding pumpkin cultivation on char
lands since 2009.
“The beneficiary char families are sowing pumpkin seed on silted-up beds
of the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Kartoa and other rivers to harvest the
crop from March to May reaping huge profits every year,” Rashid added.
Farmers Amena Begum, Mofizul Haque, Fazlul Haque and Ajlema Begum of
village of Dakshin Balapara Kutirpar char village under Aditmari upazila in
Lalmonirhat narrated their success stories in pumpkin farming on char lands
to change their fortune.
“Every farmer generally spends Taka 1,500 for cultivating pumpkin on 120
sandbars and sell 500 pieces of pumpkin at Taka 18,000 on an average to earn
a net profit of Taka 16,500 each every season,” said farmer Amena Begum.
Thanking RDRS Bangladesh and DAE, farmer Amena Begum of the village said,
“I cultivated pumpkin on 100 sandbars spending Taka 1,500 and sold the
produce at Taka 18,500 to earn a net profit of Taka 17,000 last season.”
Manager (Agriculture) of Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB) Nirmal Chandra
Bepari said they assisted 22,000 char households under various projects with
DAE assistance for pumpkin cultivation on sandbars in 200 villages of the
region since 2009.
“The beneficiary char families produced 1.29-lakh tonnes of pumpkin worth
Taka 130 crore with Taka 10 per kg price at the farmers’ level till
completion of the projects last year,” Bepari said.
“Even after completion of our projects for promoting sandbar pumpkin
cultivation in riverine char areas, beneficiary char families are continuing
the profitable venture in the region,” he added.
Talking to BSS, beneficiaries Abdur Razzaque, Morsheda Begum, Mahbub Alam
and Kochhim Uddin of village Paschim Mohipur in Gangachara upazila in Rangpur
discussed their success stories of winning poverty by pumpkin cultivation.
They are cultivating pumpkin on 200 sandbars on an average each on the
Teesta riverbed and earn net profit of Taka 20,000 each after completing
harvest by May every year.
Farman Ali of village Char Khuniagachh in Lalmonirhat, Abdul Aziz of
village Char Dakshin Khoribari in Nilphamari, Nur Islam of village Korpura in
Kurigram, Manju Rani, Kajoli and Rekha of village Gidari in Gaibandha
narrated similar success stories of pumpkin cultivation to change their
fortune.
They thanked the PAB and DAE for providing support for pumpkin cultivation
on sandbars in the region and creating marketing chain to sell their
products.
Talking to BSS today, Horticulture Specialist of the DAE at its regional
office Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam said thousands of char families changed
their fortune through farming pumpkin on sandbars in last ten years.
“Some 30,000 char families have cultivated pumpkin on sandbars in over 2,250
hectares of char lands in all five districts of the region where harvesting
of the cash crop continues in full swing now this season,” he said.
Islam thanked NGOs for extending assistance, creating marketing chain and
providing seed and fertilisers with DAE collaboration to char people for
expanding pumpkin cultivation on sandbars to improve their livelihoods in
char areas.