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May 7, 2023

Married at 14, then divorced; Reshma earns BDT 40 lakh a year

Suraiya Farhana Reshma of Shajahanpur in Bogura district got married at the age of 14. She was eighth grader back then. Her marriage was not a happy one. Her husband was a drug addict and gambler. After living with him for four years, Reshma returned to her mother and started agricultural ventures on land inherited from her mother and grandmother. Upon completing a training in 2014, she started dealing in vermicompost. She said, “I couldn’t maintain records of my transactions. The officials of the Department of Youth Development and GUK (a local NGO) taught me how to keep books.”

Currently, there are 200 concrete rings used for processing earthworms, a key ingredient of vermicompost, at her farm. There are another 200 fruit baskets she uses for this. In addition, she received a fresh grant from the RMTP (Rural Microenterprise Transformation) project funded by PKSF and IFAD for purchasing necessary machines and started making trico-compost.

Currently, she is producing about 30 tonnes of vermicompost every month. This fertilizer is sold wholesale at BDT 10 per kg from home and at BDT 15 per kg online via her facebook page named Reshma Krishi Udyog. There are 25 cows in her farm. Six cows give 35 kg of milk per day. She sells milk at BDT 50 per kg. There are 15 goats, 120 ducks, and more than 200 native chickens, pigeons in her farm where she also farms fish and cultivates paddy and safe vegetables. The total amount of her land including the house is six bighas (about 2 acres).

Reshma net profit per annum stands at around BDT 40 lakhs, excluding all expenses. Her current capital is over BDT 1 crore. Reshma has provided employment to 16 women at her farm. She has inspired about two dozen women around to become entrepreneurs, creating self-employment opportunities. Reshma received the ‘National Youth Award-2022’ from the Department of Youth Development, Ministry of Youth and Sports in recognition of her achievements.

By Ehsanul Habib
Stories
March 21, 2023

Technology empowers women in Bangladesh

In the northernmost part of Bangladesh, on the foothills of the Himalayas, a group of women in brightly-coloured headscarves walk along rows of equally vibrant tulips.

Supported by IFAD’s Rural Microenterprise Transformation Project, and co-financed by Danida, and PKSF, these women are part of a group of farmers who were provided with tulip bulbs and training on how to grow the flowers then market them online. After grading, cutting and packaging the flowers, they are sent to Dhaka for sale. In less than a year, the farmers have made close to 1 million BDT (just over US$ 9,000).

As the tulips bloomed, so did the local economy. Having spotted the tulip fields on social media, tourists began flocking to the picturesque place, generating business for local restaurants and accommodation.

 

Both the entrance fee to the tulip garden and flower orders can be paid using mobile money transfer and mobile banking, with many customers placing orders on WhatsApp and Messenger.

As her phone pings with a new order, flower grower Shumi Akter tells us how “the marketing and cashless money transfer system have boosted our confidence.”

But today’s success did not come easy—it required sacrifice and determination. “Many of our neighbours criticized us for cultivating tulips,” says flower farmer Sajeda Begum. The women’s success is shifting attitudes around gender norms and inspiring others to invest in this profitable venture. “Now, they are turning to us for advice on how to grow tulips.”

https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/from-tulips-to-tomatoes-technology-empowers-women-in-asia?p_l_back_url=%2Fen%2Fweb%2Flatest%2Fstories

By Ehsanul Habib
Stories
February 13, 2023

Technology changed a life

Mithun (50), a marginal farmer, lives in Arjinaogaon Dakkin Para of Naogaon Sadar Upazila. Despite his age, this workaholic man did not give up on any work.

He has a house and a little fallow land. He could not meet the basic needs of his family members. In his family, there are five members including his wife, son, son’s wife, and grandson. He used to earn money by working on others’ land.

His wife is supportive and inspired him to do something. Mithun’s wife used to raise goats while Mithun cultivate grass in a small area. His son and wife always assisted him in this work.

He has been selected as an RMTP project participant of PKSF through its Partner Organization Dabi Moulik Unnayan Sangstha. He has received technical knowledge of high-value fodder cultivation and marketing through the “Market expansion of safe meat and dairy products” value chain sub-project. He follows all the suggestions, and leased 100 decimals of land. After a month and a half of planting grass, he started selling grass on the nearby farms. He bought two auto charger vans as there are huge demand for grass and the grass business become profitable. He also got acquainted with the meat and dairy farmers of the Naogaon and Bogura districts with the help of the project.

Now he earns BDT 3,600 daily by selling fodder of 100 decimals of leased land. He has purchased two electric tricycles to transport grass to the 60 dairy farms. Now he is a well-known fodder cultivator in his locality. Inspired by Mithun, there are 50 project participants who started the fodder business through the technical, and technological support of the RMTP project.

By Ehsanul Habib
Stories
February 13, 2023

Garol Sheep Farming: Profitable Venture in the Livestock Sector

Ashraf Ali of Kalitala, Sariakandi Upazila, Bogura, retired from a construction company at the age of 60. After retirement, he started some businesses but lost his capital. He broke emotionally. Later, he saw the lucrative possibility of raising Garol Sheep on YouTube and became enthusiastic about Garol rearing.

He said, “I started the farm a year ago with 25 Garols. However, I had no idea about their proper management and disease. As a result, faced a series of problems one after another.” He was identified as an entrepreneur in the Value Chain Development sub-project under the RMTP through its partner organization named Gram Unnayan Karma – GUK. He started raising Garol in a modern system with the support of RMTP project. With proper farm management and support from the services providers, at present, in his farm, a total of 92 Garols. Also, three  employees are working in his farm.

This IFAD–funded project is implemented by PKSF through its partner organization, Gram Unnayan Karma (GUK). Through this project, he began modernizing his Garol farming and, with proper farm management as well as support from the services providers, he was able to increase the number of Garols on his farm.

He added, “There is a huge demand for Garol meat in the market as it is delicious. Now, Garol meat is selling at BDT 800 per kg in the market. ”   

He participated in the Livestock Exhibition-2022 organized by “District Livestock Office, Bogura” in Sariakandi Upazila to inspire others to keep Garol rearing. Garol became the main attraction at that fair, and he won first place.

Ashraf Ali said, “Female Garol start giving birth at the age of six months. They usually eat all kinds of food like goat or sheep.” After deducting his monthly expenses for running the farm, he earns about BDT 12,000.

Many people are enthusiastic to visit his Garol farm and have set up a Garol farm in this area. Mia, a student from Dhap village in Sariakandi Upazila, said, “I’m rearing Garol in my home beside study. Now, I’m able to provide  extra financial support to my parents and bearing my education cost.“

Ashraf Ali said that, he will increase the size of his Garol farm in future, so that he can supply more Garol to the interested Garol farmers.

Osman Gani, a field worker at the Sariakandi Livestock Office, said Ashraf Ali is the pioneer of Garol farming. Following his success many of the local farmers rearing Garol in this area. Through the RMTP project, 70 Garol demonstration farm have been established by 8 Partner Organizations. 

By Ehsanul Habib
Stories
February 13, 2023

Cattle hotel in Sirajganj makes a mark 

There are 148 livestock markets across the country. These markets (locally called haat) sit twice a week for trading, but they remain open almost every day as traders turn up with their unsold cattle. These cattle are kept in temporary sheds near the markets, or tied up under the open sky. The traders stay around them or in nearby houses for one or two days due to unavailability of hotels in those areas. An innovative initiative by Master Shahidul Islam of Kamarkhand upazila of Sirajganj district is changing all this. 

Shahidul has been dealing with cattle for 20 years. He buys cattle from different parts of the country and supplies them to other areas, mainly Sylhet and Chittagong. At one point, he discovered that traders faced a number of challenges when they brought in their cattle to markets, as there was barely any room for safekeeping the cattle and stocking their feed.

This prompted Shahidul, a cattle trader from Sirajganj’s Kamarkhand upazila, to come up with an innovative solution: safe accommodation for both traders and cattle. He established the country’s first ‘Cattle Hotel’ in his neighbourhood in 2020. Initially, the initiative did not gain much traction as the hotel lacked some basic amenities. But things started to turn around when PKSF stepped in. The hotel was refurbished with financial and technical support from Rural Microenterprise Transformation Project, a project jointly funded by PKSF and International Fund for Agricultural Development. The refurbishment included treatment facilities for animals, installation of weight machines, improved drainage system, lighting and ventilation management, and heat reduction management. PKSF’s partner organisation National Development Programme-NDP is implementing the project in Kamarkhand. At present, cattle and traders are getting various services under the same roof.

Now the hotel, located adjacent to the Baradhul haat in Baradhul village of Kamarkhand upazila, is accommodating 10 traders and 150 cattle on average every day. A trader has to pay BDT 150 for himself and BDT 50 for each cattle for a night’s stay. While this ‘cattle hotel’ has solved the area’s age-old problem of accommodation of livestock animals and traders, it has also enhanced Shahidul’s income. 

On an average day, he earns about BDT 9,000 from the hotel. Shahidul is currently looking for more land to expand his business. Meanwhile, having seen its potential for fast growth, a number of locals have already replicated his model and set up their own ‘cattle hotel’.

Rural Micro Enterprise Transformation Project (RMTP) is working to extend the financial services of microenterprises as well as to improve the income, food security, and nutrition status of small and marginal farmers, entrepreneurs, and other market actors involved in the value chains of selected high-value agricultural products. The project is implementing value chain development activities across the country to expand the markets for comparative advantage, market demand, and growth of agro-based products.

By Ehsanul Habib
Stories
February 13, 2023

Success in commercial production of silage

Md Rubel Hossain is a 25-year-old youth of Betua village at Ullapara upazila in Sirajganj district. Born and raised in a family ruled by, above anything else, excruciating poverty, Rubel could not afford to continue his studies after the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) examinations. Now driven by a dire need to support his family, he was feeling even worse as he could not find a sustainable source of income

Rubel, already having access to internet, would watch videos on Facebook and YouTube on various micro and small enterprises. These videos inspired him to pursue an agricultural initiative but he would not see success. Rubel underwent training in fodder crop cultivation through the Rural Microenterprise Transformation Project (RMTP), which is implemented by the National Development Program (NDP) – a local Partner Organization of PKSF, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

He gained knowledge about modern ways of producing and marketing silage (green fodder compacted and stored in airtight conditions). “After the training, I cultivated five types of grass on two acres of land. Also, I received a grant of BDT 15,000 from the project. I used the money to buy a vacuum machine and started producing silage,” said Rubel, adding that his business was immediately off to a promising start. Subsequently, Rubel obtained a trade license to start a company called ‘RP Agro Silage’.

He also opened a Facebook page to promote his product, resulting in a tremendously well response from buyers even from distant places like Pabna, Barisal and Dhaka. At present, he produces and sells over 15 tonnes of silage per month to earn a net profit of around BDT 100000. Currently, Rubel is training local farmers on growing fodder in fallow land.

Following Rubel’s success, Sirajganj district Livestock Officer visited the fodder cultivation plot and silage plant, which was then subsequently visited by farmers from other areas to learn about silage production.

Rubel expressed his ambition to expand the business, including establishing a contract farming system with fodder farmers to supply fodder to his silage plant, testing silage quality at a government lab, and obtaining BSTI certification from the Bangladesh government, as well as printing sacks bearing his company’s brand name, trademark and details.

By Ehsanul Habib
Stories
January 21, 2023

‘RMTP Badsha’ Goes Viral on Social Media During Eid-ul-Azha

Saiful Islam, inhabitant of Dhakaya Para village in Auliapur union of sadar upazila in Thakurgaon district, bought ‘RMTP Badsha‘ heifer after training on cow rearing in 2021 through “Market Expansion of Safe Meat and Dairy Products“ value chain sub–project of IFAD and PKSF–funded Rural Microenterprise Transformation Project (RMTP) implemented by ESDO.

Saiful stated, “I did not use any unsafe medicine to fatten ‘RMTP Badsha‘, Instead, I fed the animal safe food including Hay, Molasses, Grain, Wheat Shell, Corn, and Rice Husk.”

 

North Bengal‘s finest bull ‘RMTP Badsha‘ has been prepared to sacrifice for Eid–ul–Azha after one year and two months of nurturing. The age of the cow is two years and six months, weight 1,200 kg and standing 10 feet long and 6 feet high. ‘RMTP Badsha‘ holds a price of Taka 12 lakh, drawing in people from different classes and professions to his house everyday to see the bull.

 

Saiful Islam stated, “I borrowed 2.5 lakh BDT in 2021 from ESDO for cow fattening and started a farm. Now, there are eight bulls at my farm, and ‘RMTP Badsha‘ is the best of them all.”

 

Under the livestock sector, the RMTP project is supporting 200,468 households through farm mechanization, technology transfer, certification, branding, and marketing.

Details in the news link:

https://cutt.ly/qLihhld

https://cutt.ly/OLihE03

By Sajal Dhali
Stories
December 28, 2022

Tulip farming opens new opportunity for farmers in Tetulia

Enterprising farmers in parts of Bangladesh are changing the landscape with colourful Tulip flowers. Thanks to their entrepreneurship tropical Bangladesh has for the first time joined the cold countries and regions like the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, and Kashmir (India) in growing spring-blooming flowers. In Bangladesh Tulips are being grown in Sariyaljot and Darjipara villages of Tetulia upazila of Panchagarh border during the winter. The Tulips grow best in full sun in the North and partial shade in the South. Tulip bulbs, pointed end up; need to be planted in well-drained soil with a pH between 6 and 7, according to experts. And this climate and soil can be found in Bangladesh too. And so Tulips have mesmerized the people of northern parts of Bangladesh this year.  Last year, in Gazipur, a local flower farmer Md Delowar Hossain cultivated Tulips for the first time in his garden. But now, the dazzling display of Tulips has now enveloped the landscape of the Northern parts of the country. 

How Tulips bloom in lands of Tetulia

Farmers in Sariyaljot and Darjipara villages of Tentulia said Tulip buds come in just 18 days of nurture and start blooming in 20-21 days. 

Agriculturists say this plant is a perennial and tuber species that belongs to the family Liliaceae. In the case of tulip flower cultivation, it is tolerant to 15 degrees Celsius during the daytime and 10 degrees Celsius at night. The buds of this flower come within 18-20 days from the day of planting and last for 25-60 days.  

A meeting with journalists was held on January 26 at Tetulia Mahananda Cottage on Eco-Social Development Organization’s (ESDO) value chain pilot project to determine the feasibility of expanding tulip flower cultivation in the northern part of the country. ESDO Senior Assistant Program Coordinator (APC) and Tulip Flower Cultivation Project Coordinator Md Ainul Haque discussed various aspects of the project.

He said the ESDO, a non-governmental development partner organization in collaboration with the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), and IFAD, under the Valuation Piloting Project to determine the feasibility of expanding tulip flower cultivation in the northern part of the country.

Around 40,000 bulbs brought from the Netherlands have been planted in three plots on 40 decimals of the land of eight marginal farmers of Sharialjot and Darjipara villages of Tetulia union of Tetulia upazila.

Tulip flower bulbs (seeds) were officially planted on January 1 this year in the presence of ESDO Executive Director Dr Muhammad Shahid Uz Zaman, Director (Administration) Selima Akhtar, and other officials of the Department of Agriculture.

“Besides the bulbs, we provided the farmers with free chemical fertilizers, organic fertilizers, husks, shade nets, and fencing nets. Besides, it has been developed by cultivating flowers in the hands of farmers,” said Project Coordinator Md Ainul Haque.

Flower growers here said that they planted tulips here in winter although it is a spring flower abroad.

Twelve varieties of tulips of different species have been cultivated under this pilot project in Tetulia. Among them–Antarctica (White), Dutch Sunrise (Yellow), Purple Prince (Purple), Timeless (Red White Shade), Milksake (Light Pink), Barcelona (Dark Pink), Ad Rem (Orange), Lalibela (Red), France (Red), Ripley (Orange), Denmark (Orange), Strong Gold (Yellow) and other species of tulips are in full bloom and new flowers are blooming in the gardens every day.

About a month after sowing the bulbs, Tulips started blooming. Many did not even imagine that foreign flowers would be cultivated in this region. 

The costs & potentials of Tulip farming

Due to low temperature in winter in Panchagarh district, there is huge potential for cultivation of tulips.

Mukta Begum, Anwara Begum, Sumi Akter, Ayesha Begum, Hosneara Begum, Monowara Begum, Morsheda Begum and Sajeda Begum, all female members of ESDO and farmers of Sharialjot and Darjipara villages of Tentulia, have proved that possibility.

They said the total cost of bulbs or seedlings, shed nets, fencing nets, chemical fertilizers, organic fertilizers, pesticides and labor costs is around Tk 30 to 32 lakh. The bulbs or seeds from the Netherlands were bought at Tk 61.80 per flower for the cultivation, said ESDO Senior Assistant Program Coordinator.

If 40,000 tulip flowers can be sold at the rate of Tk 100, the farmers will earn Tk 8 lakh in just two months from 40 decimals of land. At other times of the year, locals and exotic flowers can be cultivated in these lands. They have also created a small amusement park in the flower garden and introduced entrance fees for tourists and flower lovers. In this way, they can earn extra money without selling flowers, said the female flower growers.

Success in planting and growing tulips in Panchagarh as the Himalayan daughter or winter-prone region has raised the possibility of exporting tulips to meet the local demand in the future. They said they will cultivate tulips on about five decimals of land next year if they make a financial profit by selling flowers.

They also said that in the beginning they had unknown fears and anxieties but they succeeded in cultivating flowers by using their labour and talent on the advice of ESDO and Agriculture Department.

According to the farmers, the main obstacle in the cultivation of tulips is that the bulbs or seeds of these flowers are not available in Bangladesh. It costs a lot of money to bring these flower bulbs from abroad. “If we can import duty-free bulbs, the cultivation of this flower will increase. The farmers demanded easy supply of tulip bulbs at low prices, easy loans for floriculture and modern training,” said the farmers.

ESDO Executive Director Dr Muhammad Shahid Uz Zaman said, “We have taken several initiatives to market tulips. In the meantime, traders are being brought to the project area and contacted to buy flowers.”

“We believe that this will greatly increase the economic income and potential of marginal and small farmers in the days to come.”

In the same way, the tourism industry will further expand the existing natural beauty of Tetulia including Kanchenjunga and will be able to play a major role in socio-economic development of the region, he added.

Dr Akand Md Rafiqul Islam, senior general manager (Activities) of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), said PKSF have taken initiative to expand this flower cultivation not only in Tentulia but in the other districts in future. However, the challenge is to bring this tulip bulb from abroad. “We have also taken initiative to preserve these bulbs by setting up exclusive cold storage from the tulips that are currently cultivated,” the official added.

Source of the news:

https://cutt.ly/MM8oBeO

By admn_rmtp