e_Paper, Tuesday, December 13, 2016

6
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016
DT
News
Floating farms bring smile to ultra poor women
The new concept of such farming started a year ago at Notunpara village in Pabna
• Imroj Khandaker Bappi,
Pabna
Combined farming of vegetables,
poultry and fish on rafts on the
Gumani River in Pabna has become
successful in turning the plight of
ultra poor women of the area.
The new concept of such farming
stared a year ago at Notunpara
village in Bhangura upazila. It requires
a raft made of drums.
On the raft, there is space for
laying eggs of ducks, which spend
all day in water and lay eggs on
the raft at night. The excrement of
ducks is used as fish feed, as the
fish are cultivated under the raft.
For growing vegetables such as
bitter gourd, cucumber and pumpkin,
plastic bucket is used from
where maca is raised on the raft.
Initially, five women of the village
spent Tk25 to 30 thousand to
start such a farm, while no further
investment is required from next
year. A non-government developmental
organization is helping
them in this regard.
Hosne Ara, wife of Dulal Kha,
Hafiza Khatun, wife of Mohir Uddin,
Saleha Khatun, wife of Anwar Hossain,
Afroja Khatun, wife of Lablu
Mia, and Rehena Khatun, wife of Jakir
Hossain, from Char Bhangura Purba
Para village have been able to change
the poor plight of their families by doing
the farming within a year.
The farm also provides the families
with the proper nutrition.
They told the Dhaka Tribune: “We
have earned more than Tk100000
from the farm in a year. Now, our
children can go to schools. Now,
many other villagers are willing to do
the farming seeing our successes.”
According to Directorate of Agriculture
Extension of the district,
peasants are being trained up on
this type of farming.
They are becoming self-dependent
by implementing the skills and
knowledge obtained from such
training, said the directorate. The
directorate has been working to
spread the farming in the region.
Bibhuti Bhushon Sarker, deputy
director of the directorate, said:
“If such floating farms are spread
throughout the district, it will contribute
to eradicate poverty from the
locality. Many parts of Chalan Bil
area remain under water six months
a year. Such farming can bring smiles
to the people of those areas.” •
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