Homestead gardening boosts rural economy

Homestead gardening contributes to the rural economy in Rajshahi region, inspiring people to cultivate vegetables on the fallow land near their abodes.

According to local sources, everywhere in the region, including its vast Barind tract, Scores of grassroots people are cultivating vegetables, spices and fruits on homesteads and other fallow lands near their abode around the year and changing their fortunes.

Muhammad Mohiuddin, a resident of Damkura village under Paba upazila, said he has set up a vegetable and fruit garden on around two decimals of fallen land around their house and gets fruits and vegetables.

After meeting the family’s demands, he has sold vegetables and fruits, including papaya, banana, plum and star fruit and earned around Tk 8,000 during the last year.

He said the garden has become the main source of meeting their nutrition demands with earnings.

Piarul Islam, 46, another farmer of Phulbari village under Godagari Upazila, said he has got a way of changing his fortune through homestead gardening of pomegranate, bean, bottle gourd, tomato, radish, red amaranth, spinach, cabbage, garden pea, bush bean, brinjal, chilli, onion and garlic.

“We are very much happy with the encouraging yield of homestead gardening,” said Shaheda Begum, a farmer of Ishwaripur village, adding that it is helpful in improving the living and livelihood conditions of the villagers.

Belly Begum, 35, has become economically solvent through farming vegetables on homesteads as its demand has been increasing gradually in society.

A resident of Dighipara village under Paba upazila in the district, Begum is earning cash money through selling varieties of vegetables. With full-length support from her husband and children, she is growing chemical-free safe vegetables.

She has learnt about the importance of bio-fertilizer, seed conservation and seed exchange besides getting knowledge about proper and sustainable use of land to protect its productivity.

She continued that her vegetables are chemical free and most of those are sold from her house regularly. That’s why she does not often need to take those vegetables to the market for sale.

In a choked voice, she stated that her previous life was not pleasant and she struggled a lot to enhance her family income. To get rid of poverty, she started growing vegetables in her homestead side by side with rearing poultry birds and goats.

Currently, she can fulfil the nutrition demand of her family members by consuming the chemical-free vegetable, milk and meat from domestic animals.

Being inspired by Begum’s success, many other neighbours have been growing vegetables in their respective homesteads applying organic methods for the last couple of years.

Ali Hossain, another farmer of Baroipara village, cultivated bottle gourd, cucumber and coriander on 16 decimals of land on his homestead by using organic fertiliser this year, and I got the expected production.

Sub-assistant Agriculture Officer Atanu Sarker opined that homestead gardening fosters the self-sufficiency of people. “We are working together to make the family gardening profitable and sustainable,” he added.

On behalf of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the farmers are being imparted training on vegetable farming.

Various inputs and other logistic supports, including seed, vermicompost and saplings of fruit trees, are being provided to the trained farmers for encouraging them in farming.

The DAE has been promoting homestead gardening under its project titled ‘Establishment of Family Nutrition Gardens in Uncultivated Fallen Lands and Backyards’.

The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to the economic recovery and resilience of the villagers, including the marginalized communities badly affected by the adverse impact of the pandemic.