A group of young agriculture graduates at Mokamtala in Shibganj upazila, Bogura, is raising healthy seedlings in soilless cocopeat and plastic trays, and growing high-value, pesticide-free vegetables commercially under polyshade with mulching film, fogging and drip irrigation.

The problem they set out to solve is familiar: with climate change and shrinking farmland, growing vegetables out of season in the open field is risky. One of the founders, agriculturist Mushfiqur Rahman, said a polyshade or greenhouse lets growers keep conditions favourable artificially. In their shed, running the foggers and sprinklers lowers the temperature inside by seven to eight degrees Celsius within two to four minutes, so the chosen vegetables can be grown at any time without losses to extreme heat or heavy rain.

Inside the shed, hybrid cucumber and squash are grown on 25-micron mulching film laid over the soil. The film is silver on one side and black on the other; it holds moisture in and keeps direct sunlight off the soil. According to the entrepreneurs, this stops weeds, cuts irrigation losses, means one fertiliser application lasts the whole season, and a single sheet serves two to three crop seasons over one to two years.

The whole structure is enclosed in insect netting, with yellow sticky traps hung inside against flying pests, and the organic microbe Trichoderma is used against fungal and soil-borne diseases. The founders say that, as a result, the crops need no chemical pesticides at all.

Rahman worked for an organisation after finishing higher studies in agriculture. Seeing how few agriculture graduates were directly involved in field-level business, he left his job in June 2020 to start the venture, aiming to adapt modern technologies used worldwide to local weather and to what farmers can afford. Co-founder Md Shakil Ahmed said the aim of their germplasm centre is to get healthy, disease-free seedlings of the right variety to farmers. They also supply seedling trays, mulching film, ready cocopeat, vermicompost, tricho-compost and organic pesticides.

For rooftop gardeners and commercial vegetable growers, the farm offers drip and hydroponics services. Rahman said that in hydroponics, one litre of nutrient solution mixed into 100 litres of water can sustain vegetables for a long time, and crops mature in less than half the time they take in soil. The team also builds low-cost bamboo-frame sheds and provides technical help on handling the weight of rooftop gardens.

Agri Barta published the report citing Dinajpur TV.

Source: Agri Barta