Imran shines in flower, fruits

Twenty five year old Imran Hossain is an exuberant young man. The cheerful youth, whom I met in September this year, from Samair village in Savar's Birulia has an inspiring spur in his eyes. After finishing his studies, Imran did not run after any job rather he joined his family farm. He has been cultivating roses on 7 bighas of land (2.3 acres). Standing in his rose field, I asked Imran, "After finishing your studies, why didn't you focus on job and how did you join the flower cultivation?" Imran's answer was, "For self-reliance." If you join a job, you have to work under other people. 

"It is possible to bring any farming initiative to a sustainable level if it works according to the plan," added Imran. I understand Imran is calculating his working life meticulously. Many young people today are learning to think in that way and it is a matter of hope, shaped with perfect calculation.

Savar, on the outskirt of the capital, has changed a lot. Now, it's also known for rose cultivation. Flowers mean prosperity as it has changed fortunes of many in the region. Almost all the villages under three unions--Shyampur, Bangaon, Birulia--have turned into 'flower villages.' Rose cultivation is going on everywhere, from farmland to the farmer's backyard. Remember, the revolution of floriculture in the area started around two decades ago. At first, a couple of visionary farmers started flower farming. Then one by one, everyone joined this profitable cultivation. Like Godkhali in Jashore, which is often called the flower capital, a revolution has taken place in Savar. Roses are cultivated in hectares of land here. The story of socio-economic development of many in the region has dramatically changed with colour of flowers. Flowers are now cultivated on a total of about 400 hectares land in Savar. Of the land, only rose alone being cultivated on nearly 350 hectares. Farmers' dreams, initiatives and passion are involved in this expansion of flower cultivation. Thousands of farmers in the three unions are now completely focusing on flower cultivation, especially rose.

I was talking about Imran, who didn't thought twice to be self-reliant. After finishing studies, he started cultivating flowers according to his family tradition. He said flower cultivation has been going on in the area for about 25 to 30 years, he his has taken the initiative only seven years back. In the meantime, he succeeded in cultivating Miranda variety of rose on 2.3 acres land. If flowers are calculated from the commercial agriculture point of view, the profit from flowers on one bigha (0.3 acres) of land is two to three times more than that of the paddy cultivation. In particular, this benefit has been confirmed by producing rose on a huge scale, Imran said. 

Imran narrates, "A rose plant givers flower for at least 20 years. It is possible to pick 500 to 600 flowers daily from 0.3 acre land. If I can pluck, for example, 500 roses a day that would give me at least Tk 2 (USD 0.012) for each and I can easily earn Tk 1,000 (USD 11.67) every day, So, Tk 30,000 (USD 350.19) per month from one bigha land is guaranteed. On the other hand, from the same amount of land a farmer yields 800kg (20 maunds) paddy, which gives him Tk 14,000 (USD 163.42) from selling each maund at Tk 700 (USD 8.17) a year. So who is going to cultivate paddy?"

Imran's words reminds me the talk with some farmers and young entrepreneurs in Singair, Manikganj, a few days back. They are changing their destiny by cultivating papaya in paddy fields, while some people do not cultivate paddy at all. They buy rice. Without getting the fair price of their produce year after year, many people are now shifting from paddy cultivation. If this continues, a large number of farmers may move away from paddy cultivation, which is also a matter of concern.

By the mid-September, the hard impact of COVID-19, however, had just begun to subside. The previous year, I have seen extreme misery of flower growers across the country. Field after fields of flowers got ruined and florists had to count huge loss. This year, with the return to normal life, socio-economic activities have started blooming once again. Flower growers are also getting fair prices again. Imran said now the flower market has become quite strong. They are selling each rose starting from Tk 6 (USD 0.07). I asked Imran, "What was the extent of your loss? And how did you handle it?"

Confident Imran said, "Five years back, I saw one of your videos in which one Reboti Sikder of Pirojpur was cultivating malta. After seeing the video, I told my grandfather to give me some land where I want to cultivate malta. Hearing my proposal, my grandpa was confused. Then I showed him your video and he was surprised, but got the confidence. He gave me some land to cultivate malta." Imran's malta orchard is right next to his flower field. Good yield of malth has supported him a lot during the coronavirus pandemic days. I was really amazed to see Imran's malta orchard which worked as a backup during the bad days. 

Imran said he planted 150 malta plants, spending Tk 40,000 (USD 467), about three years ago. In the first year, he got Tk 70,000 and (USD 817) and earns a profit of Tk 30,000 (USD 350). Farmers in Bangladesh are no longer depend on just one crop. Now, they are mastering modern farming methods and transforming themselves by planting new fruit crops. The key to productive ventures is now in the hands of young entrepreneurs like Imran. They are setting examples of unimaginable success in the farming sector. Agriculture is growing rapidly with the advent of modern technology and planned investments.

Independent Bangladesh has travelled 50 years of its glorious journey and today is the last day of 2021. We look forward towards a new year and want to see more progress in farming sector. In 50 years, our socio-economic state has changed quite optimistically, where farming sector played a vital role. Over the years we have learned to be self-sufficient, leaving behind foreign aid. We have eliminated hunger. The dream of Sonar Bangla (The Golden Bengal) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has become a reality with the true leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. And, we promise to build an innovative Bangladesh with the rise of fourth industrial revolution (4IR). Wishing everyone a joyous and healthy new year. Stay well and safe, dear readers.