Vegetable farming changes lives of Bagerhat farmers

Vegetable farming has changed lives of a large number of farmers in Chitalmari upazila of the district.
The growers in the upazila have cultivated vegetables, particularly bottle gourd, chal kumra, pumpkin and bitter gourd on a vast tract of land this year. Besides, they have produced the winter vegetables.
Deputy Director of Bagerhat Khamarbari M Anwar Hossain told UNB that some 20,000 farmers have cultivated vegetables on 505 hectares in Chitalmari this year. They have been imparted training on cultivating high-yielding variety of vegetables, he added.
People are showing interest in vegetable farming for the last few years as it was proved profitable, said farmers Idris Talukdar and Paritosh Mondol who sold a huge quantity of vegetables over the last two-and-a-half months.
After meeting local demands, the vegetables cultivated here are also supplied to different parts of the country, the capital, Dhaka, Chittagong and Barisal, they said.
Most of the families in Chitalmari became self reliant through vegetable farming.
Seeking government support in vegetable cultivation, Idris Talukder said, ”We can produce more and more if the agriculture extension department provides us with training and quality fertiliser and pesticides at a lower price.”
He is very much hopeful about exporting vegetable from Chitalmari if
the government and local agriculture extension office co-operates them.