RANGPUR: The day has come with a different flair to the landless people on the bank of Teesta. The pumpkins cultivated on the vast charland of the river are now being exported to Malaysia.
A boundless joy flickered to the eyes of the farmers of Kaunia and Gangachara upazilas getting better price of their pumpkins which are being served on the plates of the foreigners.
The pumpkins, grown in the charland of river Teesta in the northern part of the country, were first exported to Malaysia on May 22. So, it was a special day for the landless farmers of the area.
Second phase of pumpkins was exported to Malaysia on May 29.
A landless farmer Naresh Chandra Barman of Talkushahbaj village of Kaunia upazila told banglanews that a few days back they came to know that their pumpkins will be exported abroad.
Mohammad Matiar Rahman said that they will get better price and on the other hand, they are proud as the foreigners will have their pumpkins. They are considering this success as the fulfillment of a dream and it has brought a smile of satisfaction on his face.
It is learnt that the dreams of the landless farmers came true due to the initiative of cultivating pumpkins in charland by a non-government development organization Practical Action Bangladesh.
The organization later took initiatives to export pumpkins abroad to ensure fair price of the products for the farmers.
Practical Action Bangladesh extreme poverty program manager (agriculture) Nirmal Chandra Bepari told banglanews that the pumpkins grown in Teesta charland are very delicious. And even they don’t use pesticides or any kind of harmful medicines.
As the pumpkins here are being cultivated in organic way, the demand of this vegetable is high at home and abroad, he added.
He further said that 11 tons of pumpkins were exported on May 22 while 19.350 tons on May 29 in Malaysia. This effort will continue and they assist the farmers to establish communication with local and foreign markets to get fair price.
However, a project of USAID named Securing Water for Food has been working to create a market-based business model since 2014 in a bid to improve the quality of life of one thousand farmers of river erosion-hit areas of Bangladesh. It has made sustainable crop production possible.
BDST: 1550 HRS, June 22, 2016
SAS/RR/SMS
