Farmers benefited from eco friendly farming technique

Many of the grassroots farmers in Rajshahi have changed their fortunes through vegetable farming after the best uses of eco-friendly techniques in the region, particularly the vast Barind tract, for the last couple of years.

Apart from improving their living and livelihood conditions and level of confidence, the growers are seen contributing a lot towards uplifting public health and the environment through adopting the organic method.

Vegetable growers are seen humming towards safe as well as eco-friendly methods in varieties of winter and summer vegetables, including tomato, cauliflower, cabbage and brinjal, and elevating their fortunes.

Anarul Islam, 48, a farmer of Harishankerpur village under Godagari upazila, has become an icon in the field of earning lucrative money through producing and selling safe and hygienic tomatoes.

“I’ve already earned around Tk 12 lakh after selling 560 mounds of tomato during the current season,” Islam said. He has cultivated the cash crop erecting stage on seven bighas of land after using the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) method.

Talking to BSS here Tuesday, he said there is no scope for harvesting immature tomatoes and using chemicals for ripening them. “We have learnt the technique of ripening in plants and selling matured tomatoes with stem,” he added.

Both the demand and the market price of ripened tomatoes in plants are more compared to the conventional ones, encouraging and inspiring many others to follow the IPM method in vegetable farming.

Newly harvested tomato along with many other winter vegetables has made both the growers and consumers delighted as it has brought new taste and flavour.

Amirul Islam, another farmer of Uzanpara village under the same upazila, has sold 6,000 cauliflowers at Tk 1.5 lakh, while 5,500 pieces of cabbage at Tk 95,000 during the current season.

“I’ve cultivated cauliflower on 1.5 bighas of land and cabbage on one bigha of land through using the mulching method,” he said.

He has also learnt about the proper and sustainable use of land to protect its productivity.