Pumpkin cultivation on sandbars brings fortune to char people
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
RANGPUR, Mar 16 (BSS): Extensive pumpkin cultivation on raised sandbars in the silted-up beds of different rivers in five districts of greater Rangpur has brought fortune to 14,357 river erosion victim families in recent years.
Earlier, these landless families had to live in miseries on the riverside flood control embankments due to abject poverty for years together since becoming victims of river erosions.
But, successful cultivation of pumpkin on the sandy-barren char lands and silted-up riverbeds has changed their fortune allowing them to lead better life now with assistance of Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB), a UK-based internationally reputed NGO.
The PAB has been assisting the extremely poor families in promoting sandbar cropping, mainly pumpkin cultivation, in the barren char lands under its Pathways from Poverty (PFP) project since 2009.
The Department for International Development (DFID) of the UKaid under Stimulating Household Improvements Resulting in Economic Empowerment (SHIREE) project and Government of Bangladesh (GoB) under Economic Empowerment of the Poorest (EEP) project have been financing implementation of the PFP project.
Manager (Agriculture) of PAB Normal Chandra Bepari said 14,357 project beneficiary households have so far achieved success in pumpkin cultivation on sandbars in 200 villages under 80 unions of 18 upazilas in these five districts.