Traders at a wholesale point in Sunamganj readying bitter gourds for sending to neighbouring district Netrakona — FE photo SYLHET, Mar 20: A man once suffered much to maintain his family due to a severe financial crisis, but now he has made fortune by cultivating bitter gourd and other crops in Sunamganj.
Now, he has set up a semi-pucca house where there was a thatched structure once. He has achieved this success by cultivating the crop.
Nazrul Islam, a resident of Sujatpur village under Jamalganj upazila of Sunamganj, made his fortune by cultivating bitter gourd.
Over a hundred people of eight villages under the upazila are following footsteps to cultivate the crop, which has a huge demand round the year.
The villages include Chanpur, Sonapur, Malipur, Sanbadpur, Sujatpur, Sharifpur, Rampur and Jamalabaj.
DAE officials said vast areas in the upazila had been used for cultivating the vegetables. Over one hundred maunds of bitter gourd are harvested every day from the area.
So, over one hundred families are benefitting from the crop farming. Their family members are also engaged in the harvest of the crop.
Five wholesale shops for bitter-gourds have been set at Mannanghat. A good number of traders from neighbouring districts come to the market to buy bitter-gourds.
A trader of Netrakona said about 3,000 maunds of bitter gourd is sold every year. It will be more in the years to come.
Bitter gourd is sold at Tk 30 to 40 a kg at wholesale markets, trader Anwar Hossain said, adding that every day over 400 maunds of the crop is being sent to other districts.
Many farmers said that bitter guard farming is more profitable than paddy farming.
When contacted, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Sunamganj Biman Chandra Shome said Sunamganj's soil is suitable for bitter gourd farming and farmers show keen interest in farming it.
An official at the DAE's Sylhet divisional office said about 7,700 tonnes of bitter gourd has been produced in four districts this season.
Over 2,600 hectares of land were brought under bitter gourd cultivation, he added.
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