Real experiences, published anonymously and with permission.
A young quail farmer in Kalkini, Madaripur, as reported by Prothom Alo
Agriculture & farmingMadaripur
A young man with a physical disability in Kalkini, Madaripur, left a low-paid job in 2016 to raise quails; he hatches chicks himself and sells them at Nimtoli in Dhaka.
A young poultry and fish farmer in Rangabali, Patuakhali, reported by NTV Online citing BSS
Agriculture & farmingPatuakhali
A young man in Rangabali, Patuakhali, grew from a small poultry farm to broilers, Sonali and layers on a platform over a fish pond, and became a feed dealer.
A young broiler farmer in Sakhipur, Tangail, as reported by Prothom Alo
Agriculture & farmingTangail
When buyers vanished in the March 2020 shutdown, a young farmer in Sakhipur, Tangail, had to sell broilers costing over Tk 90/kg at Tk 44-55.
A potato farmer in Jaldhaka, Nilphamari, as reported by Bangla Tribune
Agriculture & farmingNilphamari
A farmer in Jaldhaka, Nilphamari, grew early potatoes on 2 bigha and, with new-potato prices high, sold Tk 72,000 worth per bigha.
A smallholder tea grower in Amarkhana, Panchagarh Sadar, as reported by Prothom Alo
Agriculture & farmingPanchagarh
A tea grower in Panchagarh Sadar could not afford upkeep after a season of low prices; pests and a heatwave left him with no leaf to sell in the first two months.
An agri-products entrepreneur raised in Natore, formerly a fancy pigeon trader, in a Prothom Alo podcast
Agriculture & farmingNatore
A young man from Natore held fancy pigeons valued at about Tk 27 lakh in 2014; when new hobby buyers dried up the market crashed and they sold for Tk 22,000.
Papaya growers in Pirganj, Rangpur, one with a 40-decimal orchard, as reported by the Daily Inqilab
Agriculture & farmingRangpur
In Pirganj, Rangpur, so many farmers planted papaya that the price fell to Tk 5-6 a kilo; growers, including one with 40 decimals, struggle to recover costs.
A young pearl farmer in Patuakhali, as reported by The Daily Star (Bangla)
Agriculture & farmingPatuakhali
A young man in Patuakhali brought in a pearl farmer he found on YouTube to train him; his first crop sold for twice its cost, but buyers are mainly a couple of Indian traders.
A young pearl farmer in Abhaynagar, Jashore, as reported by Prothom Alo
Agriculture & farmingJashore
A college student in Abhaynagar, Jashore, started pearls in a rooftop tank during Covid after watching YouTube; he sold Tk 2 lakh of pearls in a year on Tk 30-40k of costs.
A young ornamental fish farmer from Nangalkot, Cumilla, as reported by RTV
Agriculture & farmingCumilla
A young man in Nangalkot, Cumilla, began ornamental fish in two drums with Tk 1,300 in 2019; he now runs three farms with about 90 species and sells Tk 1.5-2 lakh a month.
A former rickshaw puller turned mushroom grower in Bandar, Narayanganj, as reported by BSS
Agriculture & farmingNarayanganj
A former rickshaw puller in Bandar, Narayanganj, started mushrooms in 2020 with Tk 1,000 of spawn; bought spawn left no profit, so he trained and now makes his own.
A guava grower at Bhimruli floating market, Jhalokathi, as reported by The Daily Star
Agriculture & farmingJhalokathi
In the 2021 lockdown, wholesalers and tourists stayed away from Bhimruli floating market in Jhalokathi. One grower could not sell half of his two maunds by 11am; guava fetched Tk 5 a kg at the market while selling for Tk 40–50 in town.
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