Pumpkin cultivation continues to change the fortune of the poor char people in the Gaibandha agriculture region.
Sharmila (a pseudonym) was married nine years ago when she was a student in HSC first year. Her husband Md Zafar, did a job at a private company in the capital Dhaka.
Just after two years of marriage, Zafar became paralysed due to a fatal road accident. His family did all they could do to help him recover spending huge money, but he did not get well.
After his treatment, they become penniless. Even, they sold some land for treatment. Sharmila, who used to live in char area in Gaibandha Sadar upazila, became helpless as she didn't understand what to do.
One day an NGO worker visited her house. The worker suggested she do farming, especially pumpkin cultivation on the sandbars in dried-up riverbeds and char areas.
As per the suggestion, she started cultivating pumpkins on their lands. For the first time, she earned Tk 25,000. Later, she expanded the area of cultivation.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and NGOs said pumpkin cultivation in relay methods with other crops on the silted-up riverbeds and char lands in all five districts of the Rangpur region has been expanding during the last eleven years, reports BSS.
Some 50,000 char families, living by the riversides and in char areas of Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari and Gaibandha districts of the Rangpur agriculture region, have changed fortune through pumpkin cultivation on the sandbars.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said cultivation of pumpkin along with other winter crops in relay-method continues improving livelihoods of many char people.
He said some 25,000 char families have expanded pumpkin cultivation on char lands adopting intercropping methods in about 300 char villages of the agriculture region with the assistance of RDRS Bangladesh alone.
Manager (Agriculture) of Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB) Agriculturist Nirmal Chandra Bepari said over 23,000 char families with the support of the DAE and PAB have expanded pumpkin cultivation on sandbars in 200 char villages since 2009.
They have spent Tk 15,000 on average each for cultivating pumpkins on 200 sandbars this season to sell the produce at Tk 40,000 to earn a net profit of Tk 25,000 each of them after completing harvest by next month.
Sharmila said she has cultivated pumpkin with other crops like banana, onion, garlic, vegetables, green chilli, potato and brinjal on char lands this time.
Kawnia Upazila Agriculture Office sources said many char villagers have become self-reliant by cultivating pumpkin along with sweet potato, banana and other crops on the sandbars.
Farming cost of pumpkin is low and farmers reap more profit from its cultivation on the sandbars, the sources added.
