Women augmenting Bangladesh’s journey towards growing more fruits

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DHAKA, May 03, 2020 (BSS)- Bangladesh is now often referred to as a country that is making her mark in diversified fruits production as many unemployed and poor rural men and women successfully have turned their poverty-stricken situations into bread-earning positions.

Immensely guided by traits of determination, courage and hard-work, these inspirational small entrepreneurs of rural areas have the ability to feed every member of their families, while also feed people in global markets.

The success stories of Naima and many others can encourage a lot of people to follow them in the country’s increasing focus on growing more fruits, vegetables and many more.

Forty-two-year-old housewife Naima Islam, 45, is used to live at Ramchandrapur village under Sutalori union of Harirampur upazila in Manikganj district. Just three years ago she had to face a lot of problems to run her family as her husband was a day labourer.

Even the education of her three children had been stopped due to abject poverty. But now, those problems have gone.

She said, “I cultivated banana on 100 decimal of land planting three hundred local varieties banana saplings three years ago.”

After getting good return in 2015, she planted 500 saplings of different varieties of banana including Sabri and Kobri.

In 2016, Naima planted about 1000 saplings of banana and in the current year Naima planted two thousand saplings on five bighas of land. She is expecting that he would earn about Taka one lakh after meeting production cost.

Bumper production of banana and fair prices have brought smiles on the faces of growers in three upazilas of the district.

Around 5,000 farmers of Harirampur, Daulatpur and Ghior upazilas of Manikganj district have altered their financial status cultivating banana on their land. Most of the char land areas of the upazilas are suitable for cultivating banana, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials said.

Once the people affected by river erosion of those areas had to lead a measurable life. But now about five thousand farmers are earning up to their expectations from banana farming.

Following the footsteps of Naima, hundreds of poor cultivators of Haluaghat, Mehendipur, Notakhola, Harihordia and Harirampur char areas got to banana cultivation and they are now happy to get good production.

Housewives Aftalun Begum of Basantapur, Khurshida of Patgram, Rahela of Harihardia and Sultana Parvin of Notakhola village also started cultivating banana to eliminate their poverty. The farmers of the char areas collect banana saplings from Jhitka, Faridpur and Manikganj.

Momtaz Begum, 50, one of the marginal farmers of Jamuna Char area of Daulatpur upazila, cultivated banana on 90 decimal of land last year and earned Taka 70 thousand. During the current year she will bring 50 decimal more land under banana cultivation.

Habiba, Monwara and Rahela of the same area said they are being benefited cultivating banana on their sandy lands which remained barren for long.

Ontora, another woman farmer of Bhatarakandi village under Ghior upazila, said she lost her cultivable lands including home due to the erosion of the Dhaleshwari river four years ago.

After two years her land raised and it was totally sandy. On the sandy land Ontora planted 100 saplings of banana last year and earned Taka 40 thousand. This year she cultivated banana on two bighas of land and expecting a good production.

The local agriculture offices and some NGOs are providing technical support holding discussion and exchanging views among the farmers and giving training on cultivation of other crops like bitter gourd, sweet pumpkin and cucumber on the same tracts of land at the same time.