Gopalganj – Bottle gourd farming is gaining ground in the district as the growers
who have already adopted some well-thought-out organic methods with the guidance of agricultural officials are finding it more paying.Officials at the Department of Agricultural Extension’s (DAE’s) Sadar upazila office informed that more than 1,000 farmers here have cultivated gourd on around six hectares of land in Nakrir Char village this year and their gross net profit is expected to exceed Tk 4 lakh.
Farmers are getting good profit for the bumper production of bottle gourd accompanied by a high demand of their toxic-free gourd in the area.
They were encouraged by agricultural officials to take up vegetable cultivation on floating hyacinth beds during the recent monsoon, and when the water receded, they continued the cultivation on those hyacinth platforms after depositing and mixing some soil.
Grown-up gourds hanging in numbers from the sheds.
Md Borhan Mollik, a farmer of Nakri Char village, told UNB said, “We’ve been cultivating crops for long 20 years but without gaining the desirable profit. Now we’re earning better by cultivating toxic-free bottle gourd. First, we cultivated vegetables on floating hyacinth beds. Later, we planted bottle gourd after mixing soil with the floating seedbed when the water recedes.”
“The acreage of toxic-free bottle gourd cultivating is increasing every year. The farmers of the area have changed their socio-economic conditions by cultivating safe vegetables,” said Prodip Haldar, sub-assistant agricultural officer of Nakrir Char block of DAE said.
Agricultural officer of Sadar upazila, Md Mizanur Rahman, said, “We’re working to raise awareness among farmers so that the use of harmful chemicals in vegetables farming can be reduced to zero percent.”
The DAE is providing the farmers with all sorts of facilities, including timely instruction, and encouraging them to adopt some modern as well as indigenous techniques like the use of light trap, molasses trap, sex pheromone trap, cultivation of various deterrent crops along with the main crop to fend off harmful insects, explained the officials.
With judicious application of these techniques, farmers now can control harmful insects without using chemical insecticides. As a result, the produce as well as the environment are remaining toxic-free, they added.
Customers at the local market are considering these gourds safe and testier. – UNB
