A farmer named Raihan Uddin (60) has become self-reliant by growing pointed gourd (potol) in Sharsha, Jashore. Raihan Uddin is the son of Tofazzel Khandaker of Beri village in Sharsha union. He has brought comfort to a household once short of money by growing pointed gourd for a long time. Until a few years ago his family was constantly in want; pointed gourd turned his luck around.

Raihan has grown the Bombay variety of pointed gourd on trellises on 33 decimals of land. Along the rows of plants, clusters of flowers have bloomed on one side while small and large gourds hang on the other. His field will keep yielding for another two to three months. Because pointed gourd pays better than other crops, he will grow it on more land in future.

According to the upazila agriculture office, pointed gourd has been grown on 345 hectares in Sharsha upazila this year. Farmers in the upazila are becoming interested in the crop because of good yields and profits.

Raihan Uddin said his household was once constantly short of money, but growing pointed gourd has brought back comfort and his hardship is over. This time he has grown pointed gourd on 1 bigha of land, at a cost of about Tk 20,000. Setting aside that cost, he has so far sold Tk 70,000 worth of pointed gourd. He harvests about 15 to 20 maunds from his field twice a week.

He sells the harvest at Tk 25-30 a kg at the Navaran wholesale vegetable market, the biggest in the upazila, and wholesale traders often collect the gourds from the field. If the weather stays good, he hopes to sell another Tk 1 lakh to Tk 1.5 lakh worth from the land. As pointed gourd earns more than other crops, he said he would grow it on more land in future.

Several other pointed gourd farmers said they have been growing the crop for a long time and it doubles their money. With good weather this year they are getting higher yields and selling at good prices, and expect to profit. Because demand lasts all year and it pays better than other crops, they will grow it on more land in future.

Upazila agriculture officer Dipak Kumar Saha said pointed gourd is a popular vegetable available more or less all year round. This season many farmers in Sharsha upazila have done well with it, growing it on 345 hectares. To help farmers gain economically, the government is encouraging them to grow safe vegetables.

He added that the upazila agriculture office always advises farmers on modern pointed gourd production and effective pest and disease control, including IPM methods. The office is also giving farmers seed and fertiliser to encourage them to grow vegetables alongside rice.

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