Nursery business has become effective in cutting poverty to bring fortune to hundreds of rural people side by side improving environment and ecology in the northern region in recent years.
Hundreds of rural people including women and youths have changed their fortune achieving self-reliance through nursery when the profitable business has been expanding faster everywhere in the region, official sources and experts said.
As per available statistics in the government and nongovernmental organisations, over ten lakh people are now involved directly or indirectly with more than 1.40 lakh private sector nurseries of different sizes in the region.
The faster growth of the private sector nurseries has also been making the participatory social afforestation programme successful under the assistance of various government departments and non-governmental organisations.
In addition, different government departments are producing, selling and planting a huge number of saplings of different kinds including fruit trees, neem, sajina, litchis and coconut and cane saplings every year in the region.
The Forest Department and Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) are distributing huge saplings while Local Government and Engineering Department, Water Devilment Board, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, NGOs and voluntary organisations are planting saplings every year.
Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khandker M Mesbahul Islam told BSS that demand of saplings increases every year encouraging more people in setting up of newer nurseries at their lands and homesteads in the region.
Saplings of mango, jackfruit, orange, segun, baukul, apple kul, mahugany, shawl, babla, cinnamon, cardamom, guava, ‘amloki’, strawberry, grapes, litchi, black berry, jamrul, wood apple, pomegranate, shilkrai, shishu and other trees are on the best sales.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid and Agronomist Anarul Haque said nursery business has been changing the overall rural economy, empowering the womenfolk and boosting social forestation movement.
Farmer Echahaq Ali of village Mominpur under Rangpur sadar upazila said that nursery business has been expanding fast in his area during the past five years bringing fortune to many people including rural youths and women.
Akbar Ali has set up an example as a means of survival by maintaining a nursery on his five decimals land with many varieties of saplings including wood and fruit trees and medicinal plants at village Satkhamar in Atoari upazila.
Talking to BSS, private sector nursery owners Abdul Hye, Jahirul Islam and Monirul Haque urged the government to provide adequate interest free or easy-term loans for further boosting the prospective nursery business in the rural areas.
