Educated Young People Drive Farming Success in Tangail

Young people are becoming very interested in farming, Shykh Seraj reports in a programme for Bangladesh Television. In most parts of the country, educated young entrepreneurs are leading the success of commercial and technology-based agriculture, trying to use information technology to succeed in farming.

Following developed countries, greenhouse and polynet house cultivation has begun in Bangladesh too. Farmers are now growing crops hydroponically, using cocopeat instead of soil.

The report is from Madhupur, Tangail. Ten years ago, farming here had little diversity, and thinking revolved around pineapple alone; in season, hundreds of tonnes of pineapple rotted because of poor transport and marketing. Now, out of necessity, farmers have turned to diverse farming, and the same picture can be seen across most of Bangladesh. Educated young people are thinking about advancing agriculture rather than looking for jobs or other professions, which Shykh Seraj calls a truly hopeful sign.

Agriculture is changing very fast from within, and commercial farming is expanding. But to sustain this success, he says, long-term planning suited to the farming of the future is needed, so that young entrepreneurs can make their short-term plans more specific and long-term.

Source: Shykh Seraj, Hridoye Mati O Manush. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.