3,500 broccoli seedlings on 15 decimals of khas land; Tk 65,000 earned already on a Tk 30,000 loan
A landless woman in Fakirhat, Bagerhat, grows broccoli on khas land with agriculture department help. The early crop sells at Tk 45-50 each, and total sales for the season may pass Tk 1.25 lakh.
A 45-year-old woman in Fakirhat upazila, Bagerhat, owns no land. With four daughters, a son and a sick day-labourer husband she lived in want for a long time. On the agriculture department's advice she grew broccoli on 15 decimals of khas land, receiving seeds, organic fertiliser and organic pesticide from the Smallholder Agricultural Competitiveness Project (SACP). She planted about 3,500 seedlings in mid-October, and the crop began reaching the market from mid-December. Because it is an early crop, each broccoli sells for Tk 45 to Tk 50, several times what ordinary vegetables earn. She began with a Tk 30,000 NGO loan, has already earned about Tk 65,000, and hopes total sales for the season will reach Tk 1.25 to 1.35 lakh. Because it is grown organically her broccoli is valued as a safe vegetable; one buyer said it also tastes better and that is why he came to her field. Seeing her success, poor women and men nearby and other farmers are turning to the crop.
Lessons
- 1.Without land of your own, a small khas plot can still grow a high-value crop; an early harvest multiplies the price.
- 2.Taking the agriculture department's seed and fertiliser support lowers the loan needed; here a Tk 30,000 loan was enough.
- 3.Organic growing draws buyers to the field itself for taste and safety.
We published this with the person's permission, without revealing who they are.
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