Abdul Matin of Jangirai village in Juri upazila, Moulvibazar, has turned 80 decimals of fallow land overgrown with scrub and weeds into a vegetable farm. Alongside his business, the plot is now a dependable second income, Krishi Shomoy reports.
In 2022 he took 20 decimals of fallow land next to his house and leased another 60 decimals nearby, investing just Tk 40,000 to start with tomato, green chilli, brinjal and coriander. In the first year he made a profit of about Tk 1.5 lakh after costs. Today 30 decimals are under tomato, 20 under bottle gourd, 15 under cucumber and 15 under yellow watermelon.
Matin says modern methods have raised his costs to about Tk 1.5 lakh a season. He uses mulching sheets to protect the soil, shade net to control temperature and grafting to grow tomatoes in summer, and fertilises mainly with organic manure. In summer he grows watermelon, cucumber, bottle gourd and bitter gourd besides tomato; in winter, bottle gourd, tomato and potato.
Tomatoes from his field are selling at Tk 110 a kilogram, cucumbers at Tk 35 and bottle gourds at Tk 100 to 120 each, he says. He had sold Tk 1 lakh worth of vegetables by August this year and expects another Tk 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh before winter. Local wholesalers buy straight from the field, and what he puts out in front of his shop sells a kilogram or two at a time.
Matin has also planted mango, black plum, jackfruit, lychee and guava on two bighas of family land. Juri upazila agriculture officer Md Mahmudul Alam Khan said Matin shows how fallow land can earn good profits with will, hard work and modern care, and has become an inspiration for the whole area.
Reporting: Moulvibazar correspondent, Krishi Shomoy
Photo: NahidSultan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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