Ward 2 of Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) is known as a densely populated area where temporary residents outnumber permanent ones. There was once farmland in the ward, and people could be seen cultivating it, but with so many buildings going up there is now almost no farmland left. Touring the whole ward this winter, only two farmers, Md Jasim and Md Mojibur Rahman, were found busy in their fields, even though about 80,000 people live there.

Md Jasim, 37, was seen sometimes harvesting himself and sometimes directing his workers as he gathered winter vegetables. He has been farming land leased from various owners for 20 years, and says he makes the most profit from winter crops. As every year, he is hoping for a profit from vegetables this season, having sown red amaranth, bottle gourd leaves and radish greens on 90 decimals of land, which is now covered with his crops.

Jasim is the son of Abdur Razzak of Dashmina upazila in Patuakhali. Not attentive to his studies, he came as a young man to Siddhirganj in Narayanganj, next to Dhaka, and took up farming with his elder brother. In the absence of his elder brother Shahjahan, he is responsible for the fields. He has become self-reliant in this work and lives happily with his family. He employs two workers on a yearly contract at a salary of Tk 15,000 to look after the crops, and he and the two workers are now busy harvesting.

Jasim, a temporary resident of Jalkuri Uttarpara in Ward 9, farms three adjacent plots beside the Mizmizi Kaluhaji road in Ward 2. "I have leased three adjacent plots, 90 decimals, on a one-year contract. This winter I have sown three kinds of greens, which I am preparing to harvest and sell at market. From sowing to the crop growing, it has cost Tk 50,000 in total. If I harvest and take it to market, I can sell at least Tk 1 lakh 20 thousand worth," he said.

"After sowing, red amaranth and radish greens took 20-22 days to grow and bottle gourd leaves took a month. Once these are harvested I will sow new seed again. I have applied organic fertiliser, urea and TSP, and watered the field every 10-12 days. We are basically a farming family. My elder brother has several more fields elsewhere," he said.

Md Mojibur Rahman, 55, son of the late Rajjab Ali of Mizmizi Dakshinpara in the same ward, has been farming for 15 years. This season he has leased 150 decimals across four fields and sown pumpkin greens, spinach, red amaranth and water spinach (kalmi). He sowed seed worth Tk 70,000, and his total cost is around Tk 90,000. He hopes to sell the crop for Tk 2 lakh.

"In other years I farmed more land, but this year I did not get much land on lease, so I sowed greens in four fields. I look after the crops alone. I have already sold greens worth Tk 30,000. My two sons are garment workers, so I tend the fields myself," Mojibur said.

Praising Jasim and Mojibur, locals said: "Ten to 12 years ago, a lot of farmland was cultivated along the canal-side part of Ward 2. After Siddhirganj came under the city corporation in 2011, land prices went up and buildings rose all around. With land prices rising, the number of fields has fallen. Still, these two farmers carry on farming."

According to Iqbal Hossain, former councillor of NCC Ward 2, the ward has 24,000 voters and more than 80,000 residents. "One of the main reasons farmland has shrunk is that people profit more by filling empty land and building houses and establishments. That is why farmland has decreased," he said.

Narayanganj Sadar upazila agriculture officer Mahmuda Hasnat said: "Farmers are cultivating a total of 544 hectares in Siddhirganj. Subject to the spread of new farm technology, project-based allocations and government allocations, we distribute inputs and give farmers various kinds of advice. We are in regular contact with them."

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