Abdullah, 25, a Dawrah-e-Hadith student from Jogihuda village in Maheshpur upazila, Jhenaidah, chose a different path instead of chasing a job. Combining technology with his own ingenuity, he has built a pomegranate orchard. Two years after planting, the trees are laden with bright red fruit.

Across the Kopotakkho river, in Jogihuda village, Abdullah's orchard covers one bigha with 91 trees, each bearing an average of 50 to 65 fruits, and some carrying new buds. Inspired by pomegranate videos on YouTube, he collected seedlings from Mokarram, a pomegranate grower in Chuadanga, and planted the 91 seedlings on a trial basis on his own land beside his home in late 2022. He grows the Indian Bhagwa variety and looks after the trees himself, using light traps and water traps alongside pesticides to control pests. Demand is strong in the local market.

"Getting a job is not the only purpose of education. I study to enrich my knowledge," Abdullah said. "Instead of chasing a job for years, one should do something of one's own." He chose pomegranate because it is a valuable fruit imported at a cost of crores of taka every year; growing more at home would cut import dependence and strengthen the economy. He also grows other crops.

People come from far away to see the orchard, and entrepreneurs visit regularly for advice. Nazmul Hasan of Gadkhali, Jashore, came after seeing a video on Facebook and said such a harvest on flat land raises new hopes; he wants to plant an orchard too.

Maheshpur upazila agriculture officer Yasmin Sultana said Abdullah is hard-working, has taken vermicompost training from the office and grows guava and malta, but has made a stir with his pomegranate orchard. She has visited it and found the taste, aroma and quality very good, and the office is providing all-round advice.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.