RANGPUR, Dec 5, 2020 (BSS) – Many flood-affected farmers are eying a bumper
pumpkin production on char lands with a hope to recoup the crop losses they
incurred during recent floods in Rangpur agriculture region.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and NGOs said
an increasing number of landless char and riverside people are sowing seeds
of pumpkin and other Rabi crops on sandy char lands and dried-up riverbeds in
the region.
After getting repeated bumper production and better prices in recent years,
char people are farming pumpkins with other winter crops in relay-methods on
more char lands to earn huge profits this season.
The DAE, Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB), RDRS Bangladesh, Gano Unnayan
Kendra, Solidarity and many other NGOs are assisting the char people to
promote pumpkin farming on the char lands to change their fortune.
Talking to BSS, Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS
Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said more than 50,000 poor char and
riverside families have already changed their fortune through farming
pumpkins with other crops.
With assistance of the DAE and RDRS Bangladesh alone, more than 25,000 char
families have expanded pumpkin cultivation on char lands in around 300 char
villages of all five districts in the Rangpur agriculture region.
“The char people are continuing to sow pumpkin seeds on sandy char lands
and silted-up beds of the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Kartoa, Ghaghot and
other rivers to harvest the crop from March to May next,” Rashid added.
Manager (Agriculture) of PAB Agriculturist Nirmal Chandra Bepari said the
organisation extended project assistance to some 23,000 char families with
the support of the DAE for expanding pumpkin cultivation on sandbars in 200
villages since 2009.
“Even after the expiry of the project three years back, char families are
producing pumpkins to the tune of over 1.40 lakh tonnes worth over Taka 145
crore annually with Taka 10 per kg price at the farmers’ level in the
region,” he added.
Talking to BSS, Kobiza Khatun, Aminul Islam, Morsheda Begum and Mahbub Alam
of Char Paschim Mohipur village in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur said they
have won extreme poverty through farming pumpkin with other crops in relay-
methods.
They are cultivating pumpkins with other crops like onion, garlic,
vegetables, green chili, squash, potato, brinjal, sweet potato and other Rabi
crops on the sandy char lands and dried-up riverbeds of the Teesta this
season.
“We spend Taka 15,000 to 16,000 for farming pumpkin on 200 sandbars each to
sell the produce around Taka 40,000 and earn a net profit of about Taka
25,000 annually after completing harvest by May,” said farmer Abdur Razzaque
of the same village.
Hossain Ali of Dhushmara Char in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur said he sowed
pumpkin seeds for 4,000 plants on sandbars on the dried-up Teesta riverbed
with a hope to earn Taka 1.50 lakh this season.
“Everyone in our village is expanding cultivation of pumpkin with other
winter crops on the dried-up sandy riverbed,” he added.
Acting Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md
Moniruzzaman said expanded cultivation of pumpkin with other Rabi crops have
improved the livelihoods of many char people in the last 12 years.
“The tender plants of earlier varieties of pumpkin are growing superbly
amid favourable climatic conditions on the char lands predicting its bumper
production this season in the region,” he added.