Sirajul Islam Rekhon lives in Hatubhanga village of Maijgaon union in Fenchuganj upazila, Sylhet. He ran a cattle farm, worked as a contractor and traded stone, but none of it brought success. In 2013 he suffered business losses after falling victim to political vindictiveness in Sylhet. Having failed, he left everything and went back to his village home, dreaming of becoming an agricultural entrepreneur.

He acted on the idea at once. Across 10 acres of hillock and flat land around his home, he cut down eucalyptus, acacia and other trees and started growing malta, along with various other fruit trees.

Success did not come at first, but it has now. Selling his own malta, mango, guava, pineapple, litchi, kul, coconut, jackfruit and other produce, he earns about Tk 1.5 crore a year. In recognition, he received the Agriculturally Important Person (AIP) award in 2024.

The award has given him new dreams. He has already set up a farm at home with 10,000 layer and 5,000 broiler chickens.

Sirajul Islam Rekhon spoke to Jago News on Friday (2 May) about the story behind his success and his new plans.

"At first everyone in the area called me mad. Even my wife and children said I had gone crazy. But I didn't stop. Now everyone sees me as an idol. One son looks after the whole orchard. My three sons living abroad dream of spending their time in our own orchard when they come home," Siraj said.

There is a long story behind his success. He always wanted to be in business. Early in life he imported cattle from Australia and built a farm. He also worked as a contractor and traded stone. After closing the farm in 2005 he started a stone business, but there too he fell victim to political vindictiveness.

He said that in 2013, because his son was involved in Jamaat-e-Islami politics, he did not get a contract even though he was the lowest bidder. He lost interest in the stone business but did not give up, though nothing else brought the success he wanted. In 2016 he sent two sons abroad and decided to go home. Then, watching a programme by agricultural journalist Shykh Seraj on television, he began to dream of becoming a farm entrepreneur. In 2017 he cut down the eucalyptus and acacia trees around his home. Family members and neighbours mocked him and many called him mad, but he was not discouraged.

In 2018, with help from the local Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), he planted about 1,500 trees of the BARI Malta-1 variety, along with orange, mango, pineapple, Vietnamese coconut, jackfruit and kul trees. The trees began fruiting in 2020, and in the first season, in 2021, he sold Tk 7 lakh worth of malta and grew hopeful.

His orchard now has 3,000 malta trees, 1,000 mango trees, 20,000 pineapple plants and 40 Vietnamese coconut trees, as well as dragon fruit, sapodilla, jackfruit, litchi, Ajwa date and other fruit trees.

Sirajul said that each year the 3,000 malta trees bring in Tk 15-20 lakh and the 20,000 pineapple plants about Tk 80 lakh. On average he also sells about Tk 3 lakh of mango, Tk 3-4 lakh of coconut, Tk 20,000 of dragon fruit and Tk 50,000-60,000 of jackfruit, with other fruit bringing in a further Tk 20-30 lakh. He also grows vegetables on flat land. Altogether, fruit and vegetables earn him about Tk 1.5 crore a year.

Ten workers are employed in the orchard at Tk 500 a day, pruning branches, clearing grass, applying sprays and doing other work. He said he also gets help from the agriculture office, whose officials visit regularly.

Villagers now know him as "Malta farmer Siraj". In season, 300 to 400 kg of malta are sold from his home every day. His orchard also has mango, litchi, amra, orange, plum, bael and other fruit trees.

Senior Sylhet administration officials and people from the farm sector have visited the orchard. Last year the Ministry of Agriculture named him an Agriculturally Important Person (AIP), a national honour for innovative and creative entrepreneurs in farming.

"You can become an entrepreneur while staying in the country; there is no need to go abroad. Not an inch of land at home should be left fallow, and each place should grow the crop that suits it. The Sylhet region in particular is suited to malta, and this opportunity must be used," Sirajul said.

He added that becoming a farm entrepreneur is easy: with hard work, success is quite achievable, and help is available from the agriculture office.

Mostafa Iqbal Azad, deputy director of DAE in Sylhet, said he had arrived in Sylhet a few days ago but already knew of Sirajul's success. "He is our pride. Helping him means taking the country forward," he said.

He said the agriculture office is supporting all of Sirajul's ventures, including the malta orchard, and anyone else who wants to become an entrepreneur like him will be helped too.

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