Over an acre of bamboo on flood-sanded land, each pole Tk 70–250

Bamboo groves planted in rows on cropland are now a familiar sight in Madaripur. According to a Bangla Tribune report, a farmer in Kalikapur village, Madaripur Sadar, has built bamboo groves on several bighas of his farmland. He says that during floods a layer of sand is deposited on the land; he has planted bamboo on that land and in other places where crops do not grow well for various reasons. In all he has bamboo on more than one acre; each pole sells for a minimum of Tk 70 up to Tk 250. According to the district Department of Agricultural Extension, bamboo is grown on about 1,100 hectares in the district; a hectare yields 1,500 poles, and at an average of Tk 150 each that is Tk 2.25 lakh worth of bamboo per hectare. Taking the production cost as Tk 50,000 per hectare, the net profit is Tk 1.75 lakh. The place to sell is also close: another resident of Sadar said that a bamboo market is held at Farajirhat next to the village, wholesalers come from Dhaka and various other places, and the bamboo goes to the capital by river. The agriculture department says that earlier saplings were grown only from the base, but now saplings are also being made from the branches, and farmers are profiting by growing bamboo on less fertile land.