Photo : BSS

GAIBANDHA, Nov 24, 2025 (BSS) – Flood-resilient vegetable farming is becoming popular among the inhabitants of char farmers including the homemakers of flood prone areas of the district, as the method is profitable, sustainable, and risk-free.

Geographically the district is located in flood prone areas as three major rivers including the Brahmaputra, the Teesta and the Karatoa are flowing through the district.

As a result, the district experiences seasonal, flash and untimely floods every year. Due to floods, the standing crops are also damaged. In addition, the vegetable which are grown on the home yard and surroundings of the homesteads are also washed away making the char farmers and homemakers more worried and hopeless about vegetable farming. 

Taking the matter into cognizance, FRIENDSHIP, a Bangladesh based international social purpose organization adopted flood resilient vegetable farming through hanging method  for the char farmers here to help them grow sustainable and risk free vegetable farming all the year round in a bid to meet the family demand and earn economic profit through selling additional produces to the local customers. 

The activity is being done for the char farmers and homemakers of Sundarganj, Fulchhari and Sadar upazilas of the district under Assistance for Sustainable Development (ASD) Project supported by FRIENDSHIP Luxembourg. 

Till November 20, as many as 240 farmers of project command areas of the district have been brought under the activity and they have successfully  grown various vegetables including bottle gourd, bean, pumpkin, cucumber, lalshak, data, radish and lady’s finger. 

After talking to the farmers it is learnt that in this method at first a sack is filled with earth. Then, the seed of vegetable are kept on the sack’s earth and the sack is being hanged with a bamboo stick which rests on two poles. When the seeds are germinated, the plant and its branches are kept on a platform locally known as macha or jangla for early expansion. In this way, the farmers are growing vegetable and getting desired output. 

Maksuda Begum, a housewife of Karaibari char under Kamarjani union under Sadar upazila of the district who grew vegetable through applying this method said the vegetable farming method is fully risk free as the platform used for vegetable farming has no possibility of going under flood water. 

As it is risk free, the method is getting popular to other farmers of the char gradually, she said adding that the vegetable has met the family demand and helps her earn economic profit that keeps much contribution to overcome poverty like situation of her family. 

M. Matiar Rahman, chairman of Kamarjani union Parishad said he visited a number of houses of the farmers who produced various vegetable applying this method. 

Seeing the successful vegetable farming through hanging method, the other farmers of the char union are showing their deep interest to farm vegetable  applying this method, he added.
 
From the union parishad, the enthusiastic farmers are also being inspired and suggested to practice vegetable farming through hanging method in order to overcome their poverty like situation, he further added.

Project manager Dibakar Biswas said to make vegetable farming successful through this method, the farmers are selected and then they were imparted need based training at the initiative of the project.
 
Not only that, a total of 240 sheep were also distributed to the char families of the project command areas in a bid to involve them in income generating activity in addition to vegetable farming through hanging method, he added. 

Talking to the BSS, founder and executive director of FRIENDSHIP Runa Khan said  Friendship is a non-political service providing organization for the people who live in disaster prone areas of the country. 

To change the socio-economic condition of the disastrous people is the main motto of the organization, she commented. 

Accordingly the project is being implemented for the disastrous people of the upazilas in the district, she concluded.