RAJSHAHI, Oct 31: Millions of poverty-hit people in the vast Barind region have become self-reliant in recent days for access of water, improved seed, modern method of farming and changing of cropping pattern.
With the initiatives of the Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities (BMDA) and the government, the region is now termed as 'fruit, vegetables and crop baskets' of the country.
Not only the region is now producing surplus fruits, vegetables and crops, it is also sending the surplus amount of fresh, sweet water fish across the country.
It is learnt, once Barind area was weary, desert like region as the region's agriculture depended on a successful harvesting of rain-fed Aman paddy once a year.
If there was insufficient rainfall, drought or flood, the crop failed and people of the region faced starvation. But, for the last 30 years, the cropping pattern of the region was gradually changed.
With the introduction of irrigation system and utilising of surface water from rivers and water bodies, the BMDA with government initiative has turned the arid region full with perennial green foliage, flowers and fruits.
The changing cropping pattern of the region was almost unthinkable and even a World Bank team after visiting and surveying the region had remarked that it was not possible to dig even 20 feet below the region because the entire region is full of granite and hard rock.
But, Dr Asaduzzaman, an engineer of BADC, Rajshahi, took it as a challenge.
He, with his team and support rom the government, established BMDA and with a dedicated team work, successfully turned the region green and thus saved the region from deforestation and desertification.
At present, in addition to three paddy harvests a year, a huge amount of quality mango, litchi, guava, banana, malta, orange, custard apple, Ppapaya, strawberry, tomato, potato, mustard, gram, peanut, onion, betel leaf, aromatic rice, varieties of paddy, wheat, maize and fresh water fish are being produced in the region.
The changing cropping pattern has entirely reversed the poverty stricken economic scenario of the region where farmers now always face an acute shortage of farm labourers.
Abdul Matin, a malta farmer of Gopalpur village under Godagari upazila informed, earlier it was impossible to think cultivation of the unconventional fruits like malta and orange in Barind region. But, now those are being successfully cultivated here.
He was cultivating 65 malta trees and five orange trees in his orchard and also cultivating turmeric, lemon and tuber potato side by side of those fruit trees.
Abdul Jalil of Kakonhat area under Godagari upazila of Rajshahi launched a silent revolution in producing 'seedless' guava for the first time in Bangladesh. This year he has cultivated 4,000 guava plants on 40 bighas of land and already started to sell some of those guavas at Tk 80 per kg.
Strawberry, a sweet, aromatic, succulent, juicy fruit was hardly known to the people of our country even couple of years ago because it was not possible to cultivate in our country. But, Professor Monjur Hossain of the department of Botany of Rajshahi University has revolutionalised in the research of tissue cultured plants and successfully produced the strawberry plants at his laboratories.
Thousands of saplings of strawberry are now being produced and distributed through the farm of Professor Monjur Hossain in barind region of Rajshahi and across the country and strawberry cultivators of the country are already gaining a windfall profit by cultivating the fruit.
Hundreds of farmers of Godagari, Tanore and Paba upazilas are now busy in taking care of saplings of tomato and transplanting those in the field.
Meanwhile, summer tomato has already appeared in the market and is fetching a good market price.
Traders from across the country are now visiting different villages to purchase the item. In the first week of November early variety of tomato is being sold at Tk 100 to Tk 120 per kg.
In a new pattern of crop production Aman paddy is being cultivated during the monsoon, oil seed, pulse, wheat and paddy are being produced during Rabi - winter and dry season - season and Aus paddy, mungbean and jute are being cultivated during the Kharif-1- pre-monsoon - period in the Barind region.
At the same time, cultivation of irrigation-free pulse has been widely practiced among farmers in the region.
During the last two years, cultivation of lentil has been increased on 4,500 hectares of land. The cultivation of gram, mungbean and maskalai has also been increased in the region.
ATM Rafiqul Islam, deputy-project manager of BMDA, said the climate change and recurrent natural disasters were a major threat for food security of Barind region.
To save the crops from such disaster, there was no way but to adopt to crop diversification and short-term, less water consuming HYV crops and vegetable in the region.
Such initiative will lessen the use of subterranean water for irrigation purposes recharging the underground water reservoirs.
Dr. Akram Hossain Chowdhry, chairman of BMDA, Rajshahi, said the subterranean water reservoir was depleting fast due to excessive use of underground water for the purpose of irrigation.
To get rid of the situation BMDA has dug 550 wells to recharge rain water underground. Each of the well is 70 to 120 feet deep.
Rainwater at first accumulated in the canals and then that goes deep underground through those wells.
He further said the BMDA was also encouraging farmers to switch to crops, vegetables and fruits which requires less water, less time to grow and less fertiliser and thus increasing the fertility of soil.
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