Manikganj: Forty-seven-year-old Naima Islam has emerged as a beacon of hope and success in her village of Ramchandrapur, overcoming poverty through banana cultivation. She has transformed from living in financial hardship with her day laborer husband to becoming a successful entrepreneur, setting an inspiring example for other women in her community.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Naima’s journey began three years ago when she planted 300 banana plants on 100 decimal of land. Encouraged by the initial success, she expanded her plantation with 500 more saplings of various banana varieties, including Sabri and Kobri, in 2015. The following year, she planted about 1,000 saplings and further expanded to 2,000 saplings on five bighas of land this year. Naima anticipates earning around Taka one lakh beyond her production costs.
The story of Naima’s success is not an isolated one. In the three upazilas of Harirampur, Daulatpur, and Ghior in Manikganj district, about 5,000 farmers have transformed their lives by cultivating bananas. The once river-eroded lands, which forced many to live in dire poverty, are now fertile grounds for banana farming, bringing prosperity to the region.
Inspired by Naima, many others in the char areas, including housewives like Aftalun Begum, Khurshida, Rahela, and Sultana Parvin, have taken up banana farming and are reaping the benefits of good production and fair pricing. Farmers collect banana saplings from Jhitka, Faridpur, and Manikganj to sustain their growing ventures.
For instance, Momtaz Begum, a marginal farmer from the Jamuna Char area, earned Taka 70 thousand last year by cultivating bananas on 90 decimal of land. Encouraged by her success, she expanded her cultivation area this year. Similarly, women like Habiba, Monwara, and Rahela have found banana cultivation to be profitable, turning formerly barren sandy lands into productive farms.
Ontora, another farmer from Bhatarakandi village in Ghior upazila, rebuilt her life after losing her land to river erosion. She planted 100 banana saplings on her newly formed sandy land last year, earning Taka 40 thousand, and has since expanded her cultivation to two bighas of land, expecting a good yield this year.
Local agriculture offices and NGOs are supporting these endeavors by providing technical assistance, facilitating discussions, and offering training on cultivating other crops such as bitter gourd, sweet pumpkin, and cucumber alongside bananas.