BSS, Rangpur :Thousands of farmers have achieved self-reliance and changed their fortune by cutting poverty through farming vegetables everywhere in the northern districts in recent years.Various pro-farmers government initiatives and steps taken by the agriculture related departments, organisations, institutes and NGOs have encouraged the farmers in boosting vegetables farming during the past six and a half years period.According to sources in different government and non-government organisations, poverty alleviation and achieving self-reliance have got further momentum with the launching and successful implementation of the ‘One House, One Farm’ project.Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said vegetables farming has already got a solid ground in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Panchagarh and other districts.Besides, the common people have also been combating the seasonal lean period successfully through vegetables farming in their homesteads under various government and non-government assistance, he said.According to markets sources, huge vegetables, in the tune of over 250 loaded trucks, produced in the northern districts are being exported to the capital city Dhaka and other places daily and it has also created jobs for hundreds of day- and farm- labourers.Besides, hundreds of farmers and commoners have already taken adequate preparation for cultivating early varieties of vegetables in their farmlands and homesteads to harvest those during upcoming lean period of ‘Aswin’ and ‘Kartik’ months.Like in other places, hundreds of farmers of Mithapukur, Sadar and Pirganj upazilas in Rangpur, Kaliganj, Sadar and Aditmari upazilas in Lalmonirhat and Sadar upazila in Kurigram have already achieved self-reliance through vegetables’ farming.For example, people of Sarpukur, Tipar Bazaar, Roisbag, Balapara, Komlabari, Charitabari, Chaoratari, Kumrirhat, Hajiganj, Gilabari, Saptibari and other villages in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat have achieved huge success by farming vegetables.According to the villagers, the whole area was mostly poverty-prone even a decade ago when most of the people were living in miseries due to abject poverty, but vegetable farming has changed the overall scenario now.People of these villages under five unions of Sarpukur, Komlabari, Bhadai, Saptibari and Velabari in Aditmari upazila alone have been cultivating vegetables in over 3,500 hectares of land thrice annually in recent years.Officials and experts in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and local sources said farmers of these villages have been selling over 18,000 tonnes of vegetables annually at about Taka 35 crore.For lack of adequate storing, marketing, transportation and preservation facilities and vegetables-processing industries, vegetable growers do not always get fair price.Taking advantages of the prevailing situation, the bigger traders, fariahs have been earning the maximum profits by purchasing the vegetables at lower prices from the farmers and selling those at higher prices in the urban areas.Farmer Parvez Alam of village Charitabari said he earns over Taka three lakh annually by cultivating vegetables in his 30 decimals of land to lead happier life with respect and honour in the society and his children are getting proper education.Framers Solaiman Ali, Abdul Malek, Altaf Hossain, Abdus Sobhan, Bankim Chandra and Akram Mian also narrated as how they achieved self- reliance through farming vegetables in their farm-lands and homesteads as well.Horticulture Specialist Khandker Md Mesbahul Islam of the DAE told BSS that large-scale farming of vegetables has already brought fortune to thousands of the farmers bringing huge change in the rural economy.He stressed for setting up agro-based industries at different places to enhance export of the locally produced vegetables abroad for benefiting the growers and earning foreign exchange to further strengthen the national economy.
