Sajeda Begum's Gerbera Flower Farm

About

Sajeda Begum grows gerbera flowers in Haria village, Jhikargacha upazila, Jashore. Her husband Imamul Hossain, also a flower grower, was crippled after falling from a tree in 2004, and she took over to keep the family going, starting with little capital on 10 kathas of leased land next to her home. The farm has since grown to four and a half bighas (33 decimals to the bigha), and she is also trying lilium on three decimals. She has three gerbera sheds in all; one of them, a steel-pipe shed with drip irrigation, was given free by BADC. A gerbera sells for about Tk 5 on average through the year, and prices rise several times over from January to April. For Valentine's Day she planted 600 lilium plants; the year before, each lilium sold for Tk 200. Flowers earn her several lakh taka a year, and with that income she built a one-storey house on four and a half decimals of land. She has been to India several times on government programmes for flower-growing training. Her daughter Tania helps her send flowers to Dhaka and other places, deal with buyers online and handle payments. The Jashore flower growers' and marketing cooperative holds her up as a model grower and woman entrepreneur.

Products and services

• Gerbera flowers

  Tk 5 / each (average, year-round)

  Grown in three sheds; prices are higher from January to April

• Lilium flowers

  Tk 200 / each

  Trial crop; sold at Tk 200 each for Valentine's Day the year before

Prices as given by the owner; ask before you buy.

Address and hours