Turn the road green, make some money too
Both sides of a two-kilometre long road, in Lakhpur union of Fakirhat upazila, has worn a green look.
The eye-soothing greenery is not just making the road users happy, but most importantly, the unutilised roadside land is being put to good use through cultivation of vegetables.
Thanks to an innovative pilot project taken under an agronomist of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Fakirhat upazila, local farmers are reaping its benefits by growing beans along the road known as Shuklal-Ballabhpur road.
Farmers in the area responding well to the idea as they are earning an additional income from the sale of the produce by making a minimal investment, said officials at the DAE office.
The seeds of the particular variety of beans, called ‘Chhuri Seem’ in Bangla, were distributed free of cost among the farmers after Nasrul Millat, an agronomist and agriculture officer of DAE in the upazila, collected those from Sitakundu in Chattogram.
The roadside land that remained unused all throughout the year, is now making a good contribution to the local economy, said a number of farmers in the area.
One of them is Shafiqul Islam, who started bean farming by the road after being convinced by DAE official Nasrul.
Shafiqul said he never thought of growing beans alongside a road. But after making a good profit from the first harvest, he was considering growing beans on a larger stretch of the road in future.
Farmer Jasim Sheikh from the same area said he was the first to sell beans at the local market as he planted saplings a bit earlier than the planting season.
The appearance of the produce was attractive and he got a good price for those too, he added.
Kalam Molla, another of the bean growers, said the first yield he received was unexpectedly high, considering the land where the beans were grown on was never thought to be useful for any agricultural farming.
Besides, since the land beside the road is on a higher elevation, the bean plants survived tidal surges of the Cyclone Bulbul that damaged vast croplands in low-lying areas in the upazila, he also said.
Fakirhat DAE official Nasrul said they took the initiative after being inspired by the prime minister who advised all to ensure proper use of every inch of land in the country.
Farmers from other parts of the upazila are now being brought in to Lakhpur union for demonstration and they are also getting inspired after witnessing the success of bean farming by the road.
This model of farming is helping increase production of pesticide-free safer vegetables through the use of unused land, he also said.
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