Mamun Khan, a farmer from East Keundia village in Kawkhali upazila of Pirojpur, has sold Tk 1.5 lakh worth of bottle gourd so far from 52 decimals of land. If the weather holds he expects to sell another Tk 3 to 4 lakh worth over the rest of the season. Last year he earned Tk 5 lakh from bottle gourd alone.
On the advice of the agriculture department he planted the high-yielding Pallabi and Diana varieties this year. He picks 150 to 200 gourds from the plot every week and sells them at Tk 40 to 60 each.
Mamun Khan said bottle gourd had paid him better than other crops and that the agriculture office was helping him in every way. Besides gourd he grows vegetables all year, among them ash gourd, pumpkin, papaya, banana, spiny gourd and brinjal, and the income supports his household and his only son's schooling.
Kawkhali upazila agriculture officer Soma Rani Das said the upazila agriculture office had set up a demonstration plot of the Pallabi and Diana varieties on his land and provided quality seed, fertiliser and advice. Sub-assistant agriculture officer Mainul Huda visits the farm regularly with guidance.
According to the officer, other farmers in the area are now keen to grow early vegetables after seeing his results. The report is by Krishi Shomoy's Pirojpur correspondent.
Photo: Salim_Khandoker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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