Rangpur farmers find better returns from medicinal plants

The amount of land used to grow medicinal plants in Panchgachhi union of Rangpur's Pirganj upazila has expanded significantly as farmers now find such crops more profitable considering that demand increased manifold over the past decade.

According to various locals, Mehdul Islam, who hails from Jahangirabad village in the union, was the regional pioneer in medicinal plant farming.

Mehedul started growing medicinal plants on a small piece of his land back in 2014 after receiving on-hand training from the local Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) office.

After considering all the risks, Mehedul toiled relentlessly to grow medicinal plants in his garden for the next two years.

There are about 20 types of medicinal plants that can be grown in Bangladesh, including Tulsi Basak, and Ashwagandha.

"I also produce regular crops," he told The Daily Star.

Eventually, Mehdul's garden started providing yields worth selling but his crops often remained unused due to a lack of buyers. Ayurvedic farms and herbal product manufacturers are the only buyers of such medicinal plants in Bangladesh.

"So I had the passion, but nowhere to put it," he said.

However, Mehdul's dreams began to materialise when he first got buyers in 2016.

"That was my starting point but now, I am overwhelmed by orders from some of the biggest Ayurvedic product makers in the country," the farmer added.

Mehdul recently even signed a contract with renowned pharmaceutical company Acme.

He went on to say that he has so far received orders to supply 15 tonnes of Tulsi, eight tonnes of Basak, and two tonnes of Ashwagandha leaves this year.

Seeing his success, many farmers in the area are following in Mehdul's footsteps.

As such, more than 50 farmers in the upazila are now engaged in medicinal plant cultivation, according to DAE officials in Pirganj.

Golam Kibriya, a farmer of Ponea village in Panchgachhi union, said he has been getting fair profits from selling medicinal plants.

""I started gardening the crops after being inspired by Mehdul", he said, adding that Mehdul's efforts brought a revolution in medicinal plant gardening in the union.

Even now many farmers collect seedlings of medicinal plants from Mehdul, according to Kibriya.

During a recent visit to different villages in the upazila, including Nasirabad, Paikan, Jahangirabad, and Pachgachhi, the correspondent found that a large area had been transformed into gardens for medicinal plants as farmers find it a safe bet.

Banks are now even interested in giving loans to farmers to promote medicinal plant cultivation.

Sadequzzaman Sarker, the Pirganj DAE agricultural officer, said farmers of the union are diligent and interested in medicinal plant farming, which is profitable too.

"So, local DAE officials are giving them all kinds of support to ensure better prices by expanding gardening in the area," he added.