A son of the soil

Age is just a number. And Md Helal Uddin of Maheshwarchanda village in Jhenaidah's Kaliganj upazila is a perfect example of that.

The 76-year-old has long been promoting organic farming to his peers. And he is not showing any sign of slowing down. He still shows the same vigour and enthusiasm when it comes to maintaining soil quality through natural means.

Born into a humble household, Helal has had a rather bumpy ride.

"My father passed away when I was 16, and being poor, my family could not afford my education," shared the farmer.

Starting his journey with a goat, Helal was always passionate about animal rearing, finding inspiration from others around him. However, things changed when he inherited one-bigha land after his father's demise.

He later bought a cow, only to sell it off to buy another bigha of land for cultivating medicinal plants.

"My first wife left me because I was poor. However, life turned around when Mahironnessa [his second wife] came into my life in 1966," said Helal.

In 1990, Helal met Dhaka-based agriculture scientist Dr MA Gul Hossain and participated in training on how to maintain the quality of soil through natural means.

Following Dr Hossain's advice, he pursued further training in vermicompost production. Eventually, he received training from Indian environmental engineer Kurian Joseph and Martin's Compost Farm in the US.

Garnering experiences and training, he soon started producing vermicompost and natural pesticides for local farmers who wanted to preserve and maintain the soil's fertility naturally.

Alongside adapting to eco-friendly practices, he also started training others in the region, encouraging them to take up more environmentally sustainable agricultural measures.

He now grows around 80 varieties of medicinal plants that are beneficial for health and well-being.

As time went by, Helal's name became synonymous with someone people could trust and seek advice on eco-friendly agricultural practices.

But Helal did not stop there. He soon started training local women, empowering over 5,000 of them from 13 districts with the means to become self-sufficient.

Monoara Khatun, Sukhjan Bibi, and Rebeka Khatun are among many of his students who are now finally solvent through vermicompost production.

In 2009, UNDP appointed him to a project to regain the quality of soil by reducing the use of chemical fertilisers and insecticides. He continued this service till 2012.

Helal received the Bangabandhu National Award for Agriculture in 2017 and the Bangladesh Academy of Agriculture's award in 2016. He also went to Nepal in 2018 for compost fertiliser training.

Asked about his vision for the future, Helal said, "I want to train more unemployed rural women to empower them financially."

Lauding Helal's efforts, Md Mahbub Alam Roni, Kaliganj upazila agriculture officer, said, "Helal is an icon for the locals. We will always help and support him whenever needed."