One of Asia's biggest seed producers

In the perilous years of the Second World War contractor Hemendranath Dutta from Kolkata established an expansive farm at Dattanagar, in modern-day Jhenidah's Moheshpur upazila. His aim was to provide fresh vegetables to the British and other soldiers fighting the Japanese. The 2,737-acre farm, spread over five locations, is nowadays administered by the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation as one of the largest seed-producing farms in Asia.

Initially, Hemendranath used to transport the produce to Kolkata from Darshana railway station but he found it challenging to rely on the train; thereafter he constructed a helipad, with the vegetables transported by helicopter. Hemendranath's agriculture service to the troops earned him quite some renown.

At the time of Partition in 1947 Hemendranath left Dattanagar to return to Kolkata, with the then-Pakistan government acquiring the farmlands. Subsequently, in 1962 the properties were handed over to the agriculture development corporation, and today, thousands of tonnes of seeds of paddy and paddy hybrids, jute, wheat, pulses, maize, potatoes and other crops are produced there every year.

“We produce around 5,000 tonnes of seeds annually for distribution across the country,” says Md Delwar Hossain, responsible for administering the Gakulnagar part of the farm.

“In its entirety the farm employs more than 60 managers and 1500 labourers. The seeds are also exported.” In addition, in peak periods during boro and aman paddy cultivation, from June to August and January to March, the number of labourers employed surges to around 20,000.

“We get better wages during the boro and aman seasons,” says one labourer, Shukur Ali who works at the Patila section of the farm. “At this time we achieve solvency for our families.” In other months however, the seasonal workers struggle to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, a proposal with broad community support to establish an agricultural university on part of the land was first forwarded for prime ministerial approval by former lawmaker Shafikul Azam Khan Chansal from Moheshpur upazila in 2007. The present government sent a team to Jhenidah to consider the proposal's merits which resulted in a positive report being forwarded to education ministry; but since then there has been no progress.

“The education ministry seeks one hundred acres of the land,” says lawmaker Shafikul, “but the concerned ministry could not agree entirely, which leaves the proposal in limbo.

The university would be good for this remote corner of the country and could produce many skilled agriculturalists.”

Locals also favour the development. “An agriculture university should be established for the benefit of the area's students,” says Amjad Hossain from Gakulnagar village.

 “We need an agriculture university here in Moheshpur,” agrees student Saiful Islam who currently studies at Moheshpur Degree College. “At the moment if we want to find an agricultural university we need to go to Dhaka or Mymensingh.”