More than 7,000 hectares in Bhola district are now under integrated farming by the sorjan, or kandi, method. Land that used to lie fallow for long periods after the aman harvest now bears crops all year.
Soil is lifted from part of the field to form kandi, raised beds, which carry vegetables. The water that collects in the low strips between them is used for fish or rice, so one field gives several crops at the same time.
At Ratanpur in Shibpur union, Sadar upazila, the beds hold cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, yardlong bean, bottle gourd and tomato. Farmer Md Alamin says the land no longer lies idle. Mojibur Rahman says early sowing gives comparatively good yields and early vegetables bring more profit.
Farmer Khalil says vegetables that reach the market before the season fetch a good price, which improves the margin over production costs.
Md Kamrul Hasan, the Bhola Sadar upazila agriculture officer, says farmers are gaining from the method and the land is being put to many uses, including fields that once stayed fallow for long periods.
Agricultural officials say planned use of land that is under water for much of the year or left uncultivated could widen farming across the coastal belt.
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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