Jamal Khan lost his mother at the age of 10. Soon afterwards his father remarried. In a household struggling with poverty, he could not get past primary school, and he grew up amid neglect. At one point he began selling fry of various fish species. After several years in the fish business he had earned Tk 1 lakh 20 thousand, and with that money he started a nursery 10 years ago.

It began with a few timber and fruit saplings, but the nursery has gradually grown. He now has nearly half a crore taka invested in it, and it has created jobs for others too. His success is inspiring unemployed young people.

Jamal Khan is the son of the late Momresh Khan of the Rohila area in Daudpur union of Rupganj upazila, Narayanganj. He collects saplings and seeds of various local and foreign varieties from different parts of the country, and his nursery now has more than 150 kinds of fruit, timber and medicinal saplings.

Jamal Khan said: "I started the nursery at the end of 2012 with capital of Tk 1 lakh 20 thousand. Four or five workers work in my nursery all year round, and in the season I need 10 to 12. With the nursery's profits I have bought 27 decimals of land next to my house, now worth about Tk 35 lakh. I have educated my daughter to a higher level and married her off, and sent my elder son abroad for work."

He added: "Most customers come to my nursery and buy the saplings they like. I sell Tk 3,000 to Tk 4,000 worth of saplings a day. After workers' wages and other costs, I earn Tk 35,000–40,000 a month on average. In the season, when sales rise, my monthly income goes above half a lakh taka. All told, I earn more than Tk 5 lakh a year."

Nur Mohammad, who tends the nursery, said: "I have been working in this nursery for several years. I get a salary of Tk 9,000 a month. I am doing very well working here."

Humayun Sikder, who had come to buy saplings, said good-quality saplings are available at this nursery at comparatively low prices, so he comes here whenever he needs a sapling of any tree.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Fateha Nur told Jagonews that a nursery is a profitable business and unemployed young people can become self-reliant by setting one up. "The agriculture department is working to expand this promising sector. We help whoever comes to us, and we are working to encourage nursery entrepreneurs," she said.

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