From five decimals of napier at home to 17 bighas, earning Tk 90,000 a month from grass

This farmer from Sultanpur Boroipara village in Palashbari upazila, Gaibandha, had inherited two and a half bighas of land from his father. In 2003 he sold the land to send his son abroad and gave the money to a broker, who embezzled it. After that, he worked as a day labourer, earning Tk 100 to 150 a day, which was not enough to support his family.

According to a Dhaka Times report, in early 2004 he heard about napier grass from a local hotel owner, brought seedlings and planted them on five decimals at his home. Before that he had taken a Tk 7,000 loan from a samity and bought a small cow. Feeding her the grass increased her milk, and the surplus grass also sold. As money came in, he gradually added more land.

At the time of the report he was growing napier on 17 bighas, eight of them his own and nine taken on mortgage. Production costs about Tk 10,000 per bigha. After costs, his monthly income from selling grass is Tk 90,000. Three employees, each paid Tk 9,000 a month, cut grass every day and sell it at Palashbari, Dhaperhat and other nearby haats and in Gaibandha town. On the farm, 16 Friesian cows give 120 kg of milk a day. In 2014 he received the National Agriculture Award.