Organic fertiliser production in Bogura has broken all earlier records. According to the agriculture department, the district produced 245,607 tonnes last fiscal year, with a market value of about Tk 172 crore. Made from cow dung, leaves, straw and household waste, the fertiliser meets local demand and is sold across the country, and the trade directly employs at least 700 people.
Of the total, 14,089 tonnes were made under various Department of Agricultural Extension projects, registered companies produced 24,130 tonnes, and the remaining 207,388 tonnes came from other firms and entrepreneurs.
Suraiya Farhana Reshma of Sherpur started with almost nothing and now has assets worth more than Tk 2 crore, with 15 people working for her. At least 700 entrepreneurs from around the country have trained with her in making organic fertiliser.
Birati Khatun and Rashedul Islam Rupom, a couple from Bagopara in Bogura Sadar, began making fertiliser eight years ago with just Tk 30,000, for the needs of their family nursery. They now sell at least Tk 5 lakh worth a month after meeting their own needs, and employ 20 people. Birati Khatun said they turned to organic fertiliser after seeing chemical fertiliser damage the soil in their nursery; using vegetable peelings, leaves, straw and poultry droppings, they now make two kinds, vermicompost and trichocompost.
Alongside individual ventures, a commercial sector has grown up. The district extension office says organic fertiliser has been made in Bogura for about a decade, with most commercial production in Sadar, Sherpur, Sariakandi, Shibganj and Gabtali upazilas. The district has seven registered fertiliser makers and about 150 entrepreneurs, large and small.
The report says local farmers using the fertiliser are also getting better yields of crops and vegetables. It was filed by Krishi Shomoy's Bogura correspondent.
Photo: Press Information Department / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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