Jahurul Islam, 38, has made a name for himself in Tangail by growing betel leaf. He has beaten poverty and brought comfort to his household, and he is now an example for betel growers in the district. Jahurul is the son of the late Sorob Ali of Bhatshala village in Mamud Nagar union of Nagarpur upazila.
He used to work in someone else's tailoring shop, and his family struggled to get by. On the advice of a friend in Rajshahi, he brought his first 5,000 seedlings of a sweet betel variety from there and planted them on a trial basis on 25 decimals of land beside his house. He saw good returns in the very first year.
Local resident Md Hamid Khan said: "Jahurul worked very hard to set up a garden of Rajshahi sweet betel. We buy betel leaf from him to eat. It tastes just like Rajshahi betel. If more entrepreneurs like Jahurul emerge in the area, much of the district's demand for betel leaf will be met."
Costs and profits
Betel grower Md Jahurul Islam said: "I have been growing betel since 2021. I was the first in Nagarpur upazila to grow Rajshahi sweet betel. Building the betel garden (baroj) cost about Tk 1.7 lakh. If there is a problem, I take advice from Rajshahi growers. So far I have made Tk 2 lakh profit from betel. I hope profits will rise if the weather is favourable."
He said: "I sell the leaves wholesale at local markets and sometimes send them to Rajshahi for sale. This year storms and continuous rain caused about Tk 1.5 lakh of damage to the garden, and quite a few plants died. Apart from spraying against pests there is no extra cost, so betel farming is profitable."
Jahurul added: "The agriculture department constantly inspects my betel farming and helps with advice. If anyone wants help with growing betel, I will help them. If the government supports me, the business can grow."
Nagarpur upazila agriculture officer Md Imran Hossain said: "Nagarpur is suitable for betel farming, as Jahurul Islam of Mamud Nagar shows. We are inspecting regularly and giving technical advice, and we are working to create more betel entrepreneurs in the upazila."
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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