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.
