With favourable conditions, young agricultural entrepreneur Shimul Mia has caused a stir by growing chia seed for the first time in Sherpur. Having spent just Tk 5,000 on 50 decimals of sharecropped land, he is dreaming of earning a lakh taka. Shimul is the son of the late Mozaffar Ali of Suryadi Uttarpara in Kamaria union, Sherpur Sadar.

He used to work for an organisation. Watching farming news on YouTube in his spare time, he grew interested in agriculture and in new crops such as chia seed and ginger grown in sacks. Believing success is almost impossible without taking risks, he left his job, sharecropped 50 decimals of loam soil and grew high-value chia seed with little labour and low cost.

Shimul Mia said he began growing chia seed, a high-value foreign crop, for the first time last December. Sowing, fertiliser, irrigation and everything else on the 50 decimals cost Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000. The crop matured within three months of sowing and he has begun harvesting.

He expects 200 kg of chia seed from the land. Depending on grading, chia seed sells for Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 a kg. He said one bigha needs 200 to 300 grams of seed, and the crop can be harvested within 90 to 100 days of sowing.

Chia seed costs less to grow than other crops but earns more, and suffers fewer diseases and pests. With high prices and low growing costs, local farmers and many educated young people have become interested.

Local resident Azgar Ali said they usually grow rice, wheat and maize as field crops, which do not pay as well as chia seed, so he will grow some chia next season.

Aleya Begum, a woman farmer from the same area, said chia seed costs little and earns a lot, so many people are interested. Having seen Shimul Mia's yield, the good price and demand, many farmers in the area will grow it from next year.

Farmer Lal Mia said: "This is new in our country; we did not know about it before. Now I see chia seed yields more than other crops, the price is good and the harvest comes quickly. It should be grown."

Farmer Nur Islam said: "We used to grow wheat, maize and potatoes, but the profit was low. Chia seed pays more. I hope to grow it on 1-2 acres next year."

Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain, deputy director of the Sherpur district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), told Jagonews: "Chia seed is a nutritious food. It lowers the risk of heart disease and is effective in preventing cancer, and it is now known as a superfood. Shimul has had a good yield. It is a short-duration crop that needs little water and can be grown in areas short of irrigation. Farmers are becoming interested and we are helping them."

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