Rangpur: The nursery business has significantly invigorated the rural economy in the Rangpur region, providing economic self-reliance to around 1,660 nursery entrepreneurs and creating 6,500 jobs for the unemployed. The flourishing nursery sector has not only enabled owners to achieve self-reliance but also provided employment opportunities for hundreds of unemployed rural individuals, contributing to poverty alleviation.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, officials from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) have reported that numerous entrepreneurs and rural families have attained self-reliance through the nursery business, which has improved the rural economy as well as the environment, ecology, biodiversity, and ecosystems. Md Afzal Hossain, Additional Director of the DAE at its Rangpur regional office, noted that there are currently 216 registered and 844 unregistered nurseries in the private sector across all five districts of the Rangpur agriculture region.
These nurseries employ approximately 6,500 agricultural workers, both male and female, who earn daily wages between Taka 400 and Taka 500. With a growing demand for seedlings, the nursery business has become highly profitable, encouraging more individuals to establish new nurseries.
Meanwhile, around 1,000 small-scale ‘fariahs’ (middlemen) and vendors are involved in selling saplings of flowers, timber, fruits, and medicinal plants. They procure these saplings from different nurseries and sell them at their shops or door-to-door using rickshaw-vans. Afzal highlighted that about 50,000 people, including nursery entrepreneurs, farm laborers, and sapling traders, are directly or indirectly engaged in the production, processing, and marketing of nursery saplings.
Entrepreneur Md Abdul Bari from Muhuripara village in Gangachara upazila shared his journey to self-reliance through the nursery business. Starting in 2019 on two acres of land, Bari’s nursery now houses approximately 30,000 saplings of 45 species. He has already sold saplings worth Taka 15 lakh and expects to sell an additional Taka six lakh worth this year. His nursery employs four men and one woman, each earning a daily wage between Taka 400 and Taka 500. Bari earns a net profit of Taka 20,000 monthly.
Md. Ripon Mia from Paschim Kursha Shikarpara village in Taraganj upazila, who began his nursery business 15 years ago, currently manages a nursery with 70,000 saplings of 150 varieties. He plans to produce and sell 1.20 lakh saplings this season, expecting to earn a net profit of Taka eight lakh.
Md. Abdul Wahab from Jharbishla village in Pirganj upazila narrated his success story in the nursery business over the past 16 years. His nursery produces around 1.50 lakh saplings annually, with an anticipated net profit of Taka five lakh this year.
Abdul Ohid Sheikh of Horkoli in Rangpur Sadar upazila has expanded his nursery business to 35 acres, employing over 150 farm laborers. His nurseries produce 14 lakh saplings, which are distributed nationwide. Ohid sells about 7,000 saplings daily during the peak plantation season.
Sapling sellers like Shudhangshu Ruishi and Ershadul Haque are also thriving in the nursery business, earning Taka 20,000 and Taka 15,000 monthly, respectively, by selling saplings in various markets and villages.