CropsSpeaking at Sylhet Agricultural University's 20th founding anniversary, prime ministerial adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said farm policy that weighs production, markets, technology and farmers' lives together would make growth more durable.
Homestead farmingMostafa Kamal Opil of Narayanpur, Gaibandha Sadar, has raised about 700 native date palm seedlings on a few decimals of unused land beside his home; they cost about Tk 50,000, and at Tk 500 a seedling he hopes for about Tk 350,000.
VegetablesAlong village roads in 15 unions of Pirganj, Rangpur, farmers are earning extra from beans, pumpkin, bottle gourd and papaya as well as sesame, ginger and turmeric, on condition that roads and drains are not damaged.
VegetablesAbdul Matin of Jangirai village in Juri, Moulvibazar, invested Tk 40,000 to bring 80 decimals of overgrown fallow land under tomato, bottle gourd, cucumber and yellow watermelon, using mulch, shade net and grafting to grow tomatoes even in summer.
CropsIn Dewanganj, Jamalpur, farmers are growing water chestnut cheaply on land that stays under water for much of the year and can carry no other crop; the upazila agriculture office says the crop has good potential.
Summer vegetables cover 130 hectares in Khetlal upazila of Joypurhat this season, 60 hectares of it bitter gourd.
Advised by the agriculture office, Rony Mitra and partners planted BARI-3 and Vietnamese malta on one acre of abandoned coal heaps in Netrokona in 2021; about Tk 10 lakh invested, Tk 3.5 lakh of fruit sold last year and double expected now, with wholesalers paying Tk 80-100 a kilogram at the orchard
Sirajnagar Tea Estate in Moulvibazar put Tk 12 lakh into the orchard in 2024; Thai Red, Jumbo Red and White Pink varieties fruit 25-26 days after flowering, no pesticide is used, and tea workers earn extra wages and take fruit home free, say manager Shamim Islam and upazila agriculture officer Md Ja
Haji Saral Mia of Mymensingh planted okra, greens and fruit trees on the one-acre bank of his 5.5-acre fish pond; 180 maunds are sold, 200-250 more are coming, and the crop needs no fertiliser and hardly any pesticide.
Sirajnagar tea garden in Moulvibazar started a Tk 12 lakh trial in 2024; the Thai Red, Jumbo Red and White Pink varieties fruited in the second year, are grown without chemical pesticides, and the estate now plans to export.
