The Barind was not always this green and prosperous. Shykh Seraj has known the region's farming culture since the 1980s and has filmed reports here many times. Back then, lack of irrigation meant little farming, and unemployment was the main cause of poverty. Relying on rain, farmers could grow perhaps one crop a year, and the land lay idle for the rest of the year.

Over the past decade, a different kind of agricultural prosperity has begun in this region famous for rice. From above, a darker green farming can be seen spreading into the green rice fields. Young people are changing the Barind's farming and fields, taking up high-value fruits and crops, and commercial farming is expanding.

Rafiqul Islam of Nachole, Chapainawabganj, has set a bright example with a large year-round mango orchard.

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