A farmer was working in the field under a blazing sun with no mathal, the traditional farmer's hat, on his head. Many farmers also spray pesticide without wearing a mask. Whenever he sees such a farmer, he runs over, puts a mathal on the farmer's head and a mask on his face, and hands him soap so that he gets into the habit of washing his hands when he goes home after work. He gives all this free of charge.

For years, Kazi Emdadul Haque, son of Kazi Abdul Wahed of Daulatpur village in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenaidah, has been working like this to protect farmers. He passed his SSC from Kolabazar United High School in 1988 and his HSC from Khulna Azam Khan Commerce College in 1990. After his BA examinations he took a job with a private company in Jamalpur, but he left it and returned to the village. Alongside his own farming he teaches at a village madrasa. There is no salary there, so he earns about Tk 10,000 a month tutoring students at home. He spends Tk 6,000 of that on his household and the rest on farmers. He lives with his wife, two daughters and a son.

In 2006 he invited a few neighbours to his home to discuss what could be done for the safety of working people. From there he began holding night meetings with farmers in neighbourhood after neighbourhood, then arranged lessons at those meetings, and gradually became involved in all kinds of work for farmers' safety.

Local people say Emdadul first went round the fields of 11 villages in his own Kola union and made a list of farmers, including those who did not wear a mathal or a mask while spraying pesticide. Working from that list, he gave farmers mathals and masks. He has already handed out more than 1,000 mathals, and even more masks.

Emdadul also determines blood groups to help farmers with medical treatment. He has planted more than 20,000 timber and fruit trees and 15,000 palm seeds in the area. He teaches at night schools to make farmers literate, and to reduce the use of chemical fertiliser he advises farmers on making vermicompost and trains them free of charge.

Local farmer Abdul Majid said: "One day I was working in the field, spraying medicine on my bitter gourd (ushte) plot with nothing over my face. Seeing this, he took a mask from his pocket and put it on me."

Mominur Rahman of Kamalhat said: "If Emdad bhai sees someone working without a mathal, he runs over and puts one on him."

Farmer Nannu Mia said: "I was working in the field in the sun when Emdad bhai came and put a mathal on me. He explained the benefits of working with a mathal on. Since then I never go to the field without one."

Teacher Emdadul Haque told Jago News: "I started handing out mathals, masks and soap to overcome farmers' lack of awareness. Now many of them use these things. And because they can't read, they can't read the awareness leaflets the agriculture department gives out. So I took the initiative to set up night schools in the neighbourhoods."

"So far more than 500 farmers have become literate through 13 centres in eight villages," he said. "I was trained in making vermicompost by a local voluntary organisation, and now I am training the farmers of the village."

Kola union parishad chairman Ayub Hossain told Jago News: "What Emdad is doing, we cannot do even as elected representatives. He spends less of what he earns on his family and spends it on the people of the area."

Upazila agriculture officer Md Jahidul Karim told Jago News: "The local agriculture department is impressed by Emdadul Haque's work. So on behalf of the agriculture department, an agricultural library has been set up at his home, and a cupboard and some books have been given."

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