Mitul Sheikh, who was passing time without any suitable work, is now a solvent farmer in Jhenidah. Not only the youth, all members of the family turned to workaholic and passing their time in agriculture field abides their family activities and education.
The family now owns rice transplanting machine and some other small-scale tools for agriculture production purposes. Mosleh Uddin Tuhin, a sub assistant agriculture officer of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) at Sarutia union of Shailkupa upazila in Jhenidah has played a significant role to make Mitul’s family changed.
Mosleh Uddin Tuhin said as he was serving in Sarutia block, witnessed that farmer Mitul Sheikh of Gosaidanga village, who was owner of a few bighas of land, was facing financial hardship with his family. After repeated attempts, Mitul agreed to accompany with the DAE man and started farming a few decimals of land at his house premises and harvested good crop from the land.
Mitul Sheikh said his wife Sharifa Khatun and daughter Tahmina Khatun Mina, studying in a local secondary school have been assisting him in field work round the year.
Mitul said the DAE had allocated a demonstration plot of Malta for him two years back where he had transplanted 60 saplings. The plants on piece of fallow land are going to offer mature fruits within a few weeks. They are expecting Taka at least 45 thousand in first year. The plot will ensure him at least TK 40,000 every season excluding maintenance cost. Sharifa has been growing Ghima Kalmi, a tasty and useful vegetable leaf as an intercrop to meet their daily vegetable demand.
Sharifa said, she along with her daughter is engaged in producing Papya and some other vegetables at the surroundings of the house which meets their yearly vegetable demands.
They also distribute the organic vegetables that they grow without any chemical fertilizer or harmful pesticides. Farmer Mitul Sheikh said, he purchased a mini rice transplanter at a subsidy rate through the DAE. He has been transplanting paddy saplings in his own land and harvesting the same with the same machine with fuel cost only.
The rice transplanter has been ensuring money and saving huge time. It is also sent in hire to the local farmers which ensuring some money in three paddy seasons, he added.
The farmer said their daughter Tahmina has been helping them a lot when she was free from her education at home. She maintains the saplings on the tray round the clock.
DAE deputy director in Jhenidah GM Abdur Rauf said the staffs of his department have been rendering services for the farmers staying in the locality. They have been proving training to the farmers and disseminating modern and timely technology to them for better yield to strengthen socio-economic state of the farmers.
