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Vegetable farming brings fortune to cluster village people

Tarikul Islam. Khulna
13 Dec 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 13 Dec 2022 00:34:37
Vegetable farming brings fortune to cluster village people
Cluster village farmers plant seasonal fruit and vegetable in the yard– Tarikul Islam

Landless people of Khulna’s Koyra upazila who were allocated houses in the cluster village project have become self-reliant by farming seasonal vegetables.

Mina Khatun, a resident of the Bagali shelter project in the upazila, said she planted vegetables in her yard to aid her family financially.

“My husband’s earnings were not enough to sustain our family with 4 school-going kids. So I started growing vegetables in the yard that I sell and also keep some for the family to eat,” she said.

Her neighbour Mahfuza Khatun also began cultivating vegetables being inspired by her. Mahfuza makes an annual profit of Tk 3,000-4,000 from selling vegetables.

There are 80 semi-pucca houses in Bagali cluster village. The community has a pond where the beneficiaries farm fish.

About 10-12 residents have begun vegetable cultivation in their yards to fulfil their family’s needs as well as to sell them in the market. Gradually more people are becoming interested in farming vegetables.

They expressed their joy at receiving land and a house in the project. It has allowed them to turn their fortune from extreme poverty by farming fish and cultivating vegetables.

The small-scale vegetable farmers hope to receive support from NGOs or the agricultural office to help expand their initiative.

Guchchagram shelter project residents of Gobra village in the same upazila are also cultivating vegetables in their yards.

However, they complained that their kitchen gardens get inundated by tidal waves due to the village being constructed by the Kopotakkho River in an unplanned manner. They demanded the local administration build a proper dam to block the saline water from destroying their crops.

Mst Saleya Khatun, a resident of Gobra Guchchagram, said she cultivates seasonal vegetables in her yard to meet the food needs of her family and sells the surplus in the market. After regaining financial stability, now she has planted some fruit trees alongside the vegetables.

Another resident of the same village Ila Bibi expects her fruit trees will start bearing fruit soon. She also cultivates vegetables to sell.

However, the image was different in the Sheora and Malikhali village housing projects of the same upazila. Most of the houses in Sheora village have become uninhabitable.

There, the soil of the yards has been washed away by the water of the Kopotakkho River. As the embankment here has weakened the village gets inundated during high tides. There is also an acute shortage of fresh water.

There are 100 houses in Malikhali village. However, the residents cannot cultivate vegetables due to a shortage of fresh water in the village. Residents of the village demand a freshwater pond be dug for their benefit.

In this regard, the upazila Agriculture Officer (Acting) Asim Kumar Das said the village residents' vegetable cultivation is commendable.

"If the Nutritional Garden project gets approval, these farmers will receive seeds and fertiliser free of cost from the government. Use of organic fertiliser in the sandy soils of the areas will give better yield," he said.

"The Prime Minister's instructions are to use every iota of space to improve the lives and livelihood of the people of this country. Focusing on agriculture and using yards to cultivate vegetables is a commendable initiative," said Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Mamunur Rahman.

He added that he has recently joined his post and will soon visit the village projects and help the residents in their ventures if needed.

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