<i>Pumpkin farming changes life in Teesta char </i>

6 March 2009, 18:00 PM

S Dilip Roy, Lalmonirhat

A boy holding a giant pumpkin produced on a sandy land of Jamuna basin in Fulchhari upazila under Gaibandha district.Photo: STAR

Peasants in once barren lands of Char Rajpur, Char Chinatoli and Char Kholai Ghat on Teesta River basin in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila are now busy working at their pumpkin fields as the profitable cultivation brings bright prospect for changing their lot. Earlier peasants in the char areas of Lalmonirhat district failed to get expected yield from cultivation of other crops and vegetables but soil and climate in the areas have been found to be suitable for growing pumpkin. In 2006, industrialist Anwarul Islam started pumpkin cultivation on sandy land at Rajpur Char and got good profit. He recruited char peasants to work in his pumpkin field and provided them with necessary training on pumpkin cultivation on sandy land. Following the initiative, a large number of peasants in Rajpur Char area on Teesta River basin started cultivating pumpkin on once abandoned lands in 2007. Bumper yield of the vegetable and high profit from it encouraged many others to follow. “I started cultivating pumpkin on two bigha sandy land in 2007. That year I earned Tk 35,000. By cultivating pumpkin on four bigha of land the next year, I earned Tk 62,000. This year I have cultivated pumpkin on five bigha of sandy land and hope to earn Tk 70 thousand. I have already got Tk 25 thousand from selling pumpkin,” Shamser Ali, a pumpkin cultivator at Chinatoli Char in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, said. Another farmer Ranojit Roy said, “Earlier I had been facing monga but cultivating pumpkin on three bigha of sandy land since 2007 brought me solvency." Traders from different parts of the country including the capital come to char areas in Lalmonirhat and purchase pumpkin from the growers on the spot. One kg pumpkin is sold at Tk 6 to 8 in local markets. “Pumpkin cultivation on sandy lands in char areas can play vital role to mitigate monga in Teesta and Dharla river basin,” said Aftab Uddin Khan, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension in Lalmonirhat.