In Uganda, East Africa, the commercial farm Mairye Estate has run successfully for sixty years. It uses modern, sustainable technology to produce and process 100 per cent export-oriented roses and vegetable crops.

By planning and commercial scale, the 162-hectare estate is Uganda's first and largest farm. It came into the hands of Indian citizen Khan Mohammad Huda in 1956 and was first farmed for rubber, then coffee and sugarcane. After a break, in the hands of the third generation it has become a farm of export roses and uncommon salad crops such as mint and spring onion.

It has 60 huge greenhouses and state-of-the-art facilities for large-scale processing, cooling and storage. Half the crops are grown in soil and half in soilless hydroponic technology.

The farm runs 365 days a year with 900 workers, who are provided with food, medical care, housing, schooling for their children and even a day-care centre.

Source: Shykh Seraj, Hridoye Mati O Manush. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.