A young man completed a diploma in agriculture in early 2015. His dream was to do something that would create jobs for others as well as himself, and that idea led him to build an integrated farm. He started with 2 bighas of land and Tk 50,000 from his father, began seeing a profit from the second year, and within just seven years achieved remarkable success. After all costs, he now makes a profit of Tk 13-15 lakh a year.

He is Abdul Kader Sohan, an enterprising young agricultural entrepreneur from Chuadanga. His integrated farm has not only made him self-reliant but has also created jobs for several people, and many educated unemployed young people now dream of succeeding in farming after seeing him.

It was 2008. Sohan, then a secondary school student, sometimes went with his father to the fields. Charmed by the fine fruit and crop gardens there, he decided that day to build a farm. His family did not back his decision to set up a farm before finishing his studies. He was somewhat disappointed but did not give up.

"After passing the SSC, I started a diploma in agriculture at MS Zoha Degree College in Alamdanga, Chuadanga," Sohan said. "I finished the diploma in 2015 and earned a Bachelor of Agricultural Education (BAgEd) from the Open University in 2018. My father wanted me to take a job at a good school or college. Instead, to stand on my own feet, I took 2 bighas of land and Tk 50,000 from him and started building an integrated farm."

"In the first year I started on the 2 bighas with year-round Katimon mango, Thai seedless lemon and Thai guava," he said. "I made no profit that first year, but in the second year I leased some extra land and managed to earn something. Some time later I started afresh on 30 bighas, that is 10 acres."

He said his farm now grows year-round Katimon mango and the mango varieties Dokmai, BARI-4, Kiu Jai, Palmer, Banana, Surjo Dim, Alfanchu, Chakapata, Bruneiting, Gourmoti and R2E2, as well as Chinese orange, Darjeeling orange, BARI Malta-1 and 2, Vietnamese year-round malta, Philippine black sugarcane, flowers of various species, seasonal vegetables and local fruits and flowers.

"I farm fish on 9 bighas," Sohan added. "During the coronavirus period, production and profit at my integrated farm, Monmila Garden and Nursery, fell somewhat. Calculating a year's income and spending in April 2022, my profit came to about Tk 13 lakh. The farm now employs 10 people, six men and four women, and their wages cost Tk 1.5 lakh a month. I am glad the farm provides a livelihood for 10 people. I too live comfortably with my parents, my wife and my two daughters."

Bibhas Chandra Saha, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Chuadanga, said: "The young agricultural entrepreneur Sohan has become self-reliant through his integrated farm, and has also created jobs for a number of men and women. Our office is giving him all-round support. He brings in saplings of various fruits and flowers from within and outside the district through Facebook groups and grows them, and he has succeeded by selling saplings produced on the farm."

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