Latiful Azam, Kishoreganj (Nilphamari)

Once upon a time, the farmers of the village used to cultivate ginger on the high ground next to the house.

The ginger cultivation land was plowed with cow plough.To make the land fertile for ginger cultivation, it was plowed with cow dung and hearth ash. Farmers would sow ginger seeds in March-April if the fertility of the land increased. The farmer used to work hard in that ginger cultivation.

When the sprouts emerged from the seed, the farmer used a spade in the ginger field to raise the soil at the base of the sprouted plant and make small drains (dhar) to drain the water from the surrounding area.

During the rainy season, if there was water from the sky, the water would go out through that small drain (dhar). Again, if there is more rain, the cultivated crops start rotting. As a result, the farmer's dream is shattered.

After about 9-10 months after planting ginger in the land, ginger is extracted from the land. But due to excess rain water accumulation in the land causes rotting of ginger and it becomes difficult to protect the ginger field even with the use of pesticides.

In this, the farmer has to calculate the loss compared to the profit in the cultivated crops. At one point, the farmer turned away from ginger cultivation and concentrated on other crops.

To prevent the rotting of ginger, the Agriculture Department started a profitable process of cultivating ginger in sacks on high ground.

According to upazila agriculture department sources, in the last financial year 2021-22, 2-3 farmers in Kishoreganj upazila started ginger cultivation in sacks as an experiment. Seeing the success of the farmer in that cultivation, in the financial year 2022-23, the Upazila Agriculture Department advised 10-12 farmers to cultivate ginger in about 11,000 sacks.

Farmers accepted this advice and started ginger cultivation in the hope of more profit at low cost. Deputy Assistant Agriculture Officers of the respective areas regularly advise those ginger farmers after seeing their exhibition.

Ainul Haque, son of Akbar Ali of Balapara village of Chandkhana union of the upazila and his wife Zulekha Begum first decided to grow ginger after watching YouTube on their mobile phone and went to the upazila agriculture office and took advice.

The Upazila Agriculture Department encouraged them to cultivate ginger with their advice. After receiving the advice, he started cultivating ginger in sacks on the fallow land behind the house. Along with ginger cultivation, he is cultivating vegetables by planting bitter gourd and barberry trees in the gap between the ginger sacks as companion crops.

According to the announcement of the Prime Minister, the upazila agriculture department is working on the vision that not even an inch of land will be left next to the house. On the other hand, Rokan Ibn Aziz, a farmer of Paglar Bazar in Nitai Union, has started ginger cultivation in 3,000 sacks of fallow land under his litchi garden. If the yield is good, Rokon Ibn Aziz will grow more ginger in sacks in the future.

Assistant Agriculture Officer Masud said, I sometimes go to the exhibition of ginger cultivation in sacks in my block and give advice.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Lokman Alam said that 11,000 sacks of ginger are being cultivated in the upazila this year. Every ginger grower is advised to visit the exhibition. Hopefully the ginger grown in sacks will have a good yield. Many farmers are now encouraged to grow ginger in sacks.