Sweet pumpkin cultivation proves successful in barren char lands

RANGPUR, Apr 20: Cultivation of sweet pumpkin on fallow char lands has brought smiles on the faces of the extreme poor people living on Teesta river basins at Gangachhara upazila in Rangpur district as they are getting financially benefited through its cultivation.
Hundreds of acres of char lands remained uncultivated as farmers considered it barren and not suitable for growing crops.
Many dwellers of char areas used to go to town area in search of work. But the situation has changed over the last few years as the farmers changed their fortune by cultivating sweet pumpkin on the sandy char land.
Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB), a UK-based non-government international organisation is providing all sorts of technical assistances to the growers through its partner organization Uttara Development Programme Society (UDPS) under PFP Shiree project funded by UK aid and government of Bangladesh.
Talking to The Financial Express Rangpur district coordinator of Practical Action Bangladesh Nirmol Chandra Bepary said sweet pumpkin is being cultivated on fallow and barren char areas using sandbar cropping technology. This technology has brought significant changes in the life of the extreme poor. Because the farmers are now growing sweet pumpkin on fallow char lands by using this technology though such char lands are infertile to grow crops, he further said. For many farmers using this new method means not only feeding their families, but their economic self- reliance as well, Nirmal Chandra added.             
Thousands of holes are made, each no more than a metre, dug into the sand bars. Then the holes are filled with compost. The farmers are able to plant seeds into these, from which crops are grown, he also said. The people can eat, store and sell the crop for making money.
Abdul Motin (48), a sweet pumpkin grower of Purbo Mohipur village at Lakhkhitari union under the upazila told The Financial Express that he has been cultivating the crop on char land for the last four years and getting satisfactory profit. Last year he earned Tk 35,000 by selling his produce. This year he is expecting more dividends.
Anwarul Islam (42), another pumpkin grower of the same village said he has cultivated the crop on 30 decimals of his char lands this season and has already begun harvesting of his produce. He is now storing the produce at his home with the hope to get more profit few months later, he said. He also expressed his hope to buy a cow by selling sweet pumpkin within few months.
Expressing satisfaction a number of sweet pumpkin cultivators of different chars under the upazila said that the sandbar cropping method is a blessing for them as it has changed their fate a lot, making them optimistic for a better life.