The ‘Aziz Company’
I have always said, "Before investing in agriculture, one must know where and why he is investing." Without foreseeing the success or challenges there is always a risk ahead. The time has changed and it's quite different now. Before taking any commercial agricultural initiative many aspects need to be thoroughly verified. The risk of loss is higher if you invest, without having a clear conception and consequences about the production cost, selling price and how the market would behave and respond.
Aziz, a farmer from Tangail's Ghatail upazila, is quite aware of this. You have already seen and read a lot about him from my agricultural TV show Hridoye Mati O Manush (Soil & People in Heart) and my newspaper articles. People of his locality, however, know him as Aziz Company. Through his diverse agricultural activities, he has become a 'company' himself. But, leaving all his achievements behind, he feels more comfortable introducing himself as a farmer. He loves it when someone calls him, Chasha Aziz (Farmer Aziz). He understands the soil better than many farmers because he experienced and went through a lot. Back in 2006, he received the Channel i Krishi Padak (Channel i Agriculture Award). Chasha Aziz is now the most respected and regarded farmer in the country and everyone praises him for his innovative farming strategies. Aziz is one of the pioneer farmers to have started the venture long back. His lemon, malta, tang, passion fruit orchards are mind-blowing and still moves on, creating spaces for new crops. He has no fascination for wealth and neither cares about the glamour. His attraction is only towards the soil, farming and farmers. He still lives in the house he built 20 years back.
Aziz, who has a very keen observations about orange orchards, has come up with a new message for the entrepreneurs this time. According to him, nursery traders in the country are trying to sell different varieties of saplings now. He thinks it's important to know whether those are suitable for our soil or not as variety selection is important before any commercial cultivation. Aziz conducted his experiment in almost all the varieties of oranges and maltas available in different nurseries across the country. He said Mandarin and Darjeeling varieties of orange cannot be profitable if one tries to grow those commercially in our country. Leaves of these varieties dry up very quickly and there are different kinds of diseases as well. He said these varieties got burnt, but not because of the heat of the sun. I talked with Dr Mehedi Masood, project director of Year-Round Fruit Production for Nutrition Improvement Project, and he said three insects, aphids, whiteflies and scale insects attack the orange and consequently we see a lot of honeydew secretion. Since honeydew is sweet, it causes fungal infections. As a result, black spots appear on the orange. He said a 14-feet tree needs 53 litres of water daily while a medium-sized tree requires at least 25 litres of water.
During the Covid-19 pandemic last year, I saw Aziz, engaged in producing new high-value crops relying on technology. He has done plums, oranges and many other fruits amid the spread of the deadly disease. He, however, suffered a lot in papaya cultivation. He planted 2,500 papaya saplings and 5,000 chilli saplings, which he brought from Rangpur. Papaya came on in about 25 percent of the trees, but the rest did not survive. The condition of the chilli saplings was more worsen. Aziz said reliance on nursery should be reduced and the nurseries should also be held accountable for their services. As always, Aziz is giving more importance in organic farming. Aziz distributes his oranges, malta and many other fruits among the locals and he is famous for doing this. He also invites all the farmers in his region to have lunch with him on the first day of the year. Moreover, he gives them saplings of different fruits and vegetables as gift during their departure.
Aziz has always regretted that the farmer has no school. He sees television, newspapers and social media as farmers' school. He is now working to bring hilly pineapple at his rooftop. Aziz believes there will be ups and downs in every sector, but a farmer has to move forward with crop diversity. This has been proved in Aziz's case and I am probably the best witness of his risky agricultural ventures with new crops. He is constantly experimenting new crops and technologies, before finally inventing something. But, whatever he does, he does for the people, soil and for the farmers.
Today, people from different professions, from students to homemakers, are investing in agriculture. Comparatively, educated young entrepreneurs are doing well as internet is their source of information. I have seen many examples of success, but the thing that Aziz showed is, planting the right variety is necessary as the soil must be suitable for a particular variety. All the crops might not grow on the same soil. If new entrepreneurs are deceived, it will affect the farming sector.