In the Chhengarchar municipal area of Matlab Uttar in Chandpur, farmer Jasim Uddin is dreaming of financial security in the smiles of his sunflowers, hoping for a bumper crop. People from far and wide are crowding in to see the flowers' beauty and take photographs.

Jasim Uddin has grown sunflowers on 31 decimals of land in Dewanjikandi village in the municipal area. Growing the Hysun sunflower variety for the third time, he sees a ray of hope. According to the Matlab Uttar agriculture office, oil can be pressed from the seeds of mature sunflowers using a local ghani (oil mill).

"This season I have grown sunflowers with full support from the agriculture office. I grew them for the past two years too. The first time I made a profit; the second time I could not because of a natural disaster. I hope to make a profit this year, and I want to expand the crop in future," Jasim Uddin said.

Ria Sarkar of Satnal union in the upazila said: "I came to the sunflower garden with my friends to breathe in nature. The scent of the flowers has lifted my heart."

Munni Akter, who came to see the garden, said: "I came here to get out of the house into some fresh air and see a garden full of flowers. The natural setting looks very beautiful, so we are all capturing the lovely scenery in photos."

Student Md Mehedi Hasan, who came on an outing, said: "You can grow all kinds of flower gardens at home, but a sunflower garden rarely happens. Seeing so many sunflowers together fills the heart."

Matlab Uttar upazila agriculture officer Foysal Mohammad Ali said: "So that sunflowers can be grown in other parts of the upazila to raise production, farmers will be given seed, fertiliser and every kind of technical support. Sunflower oil is in higher demand than other oils, and we are continuing to advise on growing this oil crop."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.