News Flash
Md Mamun Islam
RANGPUR, Feb 23, 2023 (BSS) - Nursery business has made rural economy vibrant in the Rangpur region as it has brought economic self-reliant to some 1,660 nursery entrepreneurs, who have created 6,500 jobs for the unemployed.
After achieving self-reliance, the nursery owners are living a better life with their family members, and hundreds of unemployed rural people are working in their nurseries to earn a living and alleviate poverty.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said many entrepreneurs and rural families have attained self-reliance through nursery business improving rural economy, environment, ecology, bio-diversity and ecosystems as a whole.
“Currently, there are 216 registered and 844 unregistered nurseries in the private sector in all five districts of Rangpur agriculture region,” Additional Director of the DAE at its Rangpur regional office Md Afzal Hossain told BSS.
These nurseries have currently employed around 6,500 agricultural workers, both male and female, who earn between Taka 400 and Taka 500 per day wage.
“With the increasing demand for seedlings, the highly profitable nursery business is expanding, inspiring more people to set up new nurseries,” said agriculturist Afzal Hossain.
Meanwhile, some 1,000 small-scale “fariahs” (middlemen) and vendors are engaged in selling saplings of flower, timber, fruits and medicinal plants at their shops or by carrying saplings door to door in rickshaw-vans after procuring from different nurseries.
“About 50,000 people belonging to the nursery entrepreneurs, farm-laborers and sapling traders are directly or indirectly involved in the whole process of producing, processing and marketing of nursery saplings,” Afzal added.
Talking to BSS, entrepreneur Md Abdul Bari, 36, of Muhuripara village in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur narrated how he has achieved self-reliance through nursery business.
Bari started his nursery business on two acres of land in nearby Khafrikhal Sarderpara village in 2019.
Bari said, "Currently, the nursery has about 30,000 growing saplings of 45 species of various timber, fruit, flower and medicinal plants. The minimum price of these saplings may be Taka 30 lakh."
Bari has sold saplings worth Taka 15 lakh so far. He hopes to sell saplings worth Taka six lakh this year. Four men and a woman are working in the nursery and they are getting a daily wage of Taka 400 to Taka 500 each.
“I earn a net profit of Taka 20,000 every month from nursery, excluding all expenses,” said Bari.
Md. Ripon Mia, 27, of Paschim Kursha Shikarpara village in Taraganj upazila of Rangpur started nursery business 15 years ago.
“I took up the nursery business as a profession. Our nursery, which covers 120 decimals of the land, now has 70,000 saplings of 150 varieties of local and foreign fruits, timber, flowers and medicinal plants,” he said.
Ripon has a target of producing and selling 1.20 lakh saplings from his nursery this season.
“I earn a net profit of Taka six lakh annually excluding all the expenses of running the nursery business. However, I hope to earn Taka eight lakh from selling 1.20 lakh saplings this season,” he said.
Nursery owner Md. Abdul Wahab, 38, of village Jharbishla in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur narrated his story of changing fortune through nursery business in the last 16 years.
“I set up a nursery on a piece of land taken on lease in 2008 and subsequently purchased 1.50 bigha of land and took lease of more one bigha of land to extend my nursery business in 2011,” he said.
Currently, he is producing around 1.50 lakh saplings of wood, fruit and medicinal trees annually. “I expect to earn a net profit of Taka five lakh after selling my saplings by August this year,” he said.
Nursery owner Abdul Ohid Sheikh of village Horkoli in Rangpur Sadar upazila has set up a dazzling instance of success in nursery business by attaining self-reliance and creating jobs for many rural people.
“I began my nursery business by setting up the ‘Nasim Nursery’ at village Horkoli in 1994,” he said.
He has now expanded his nurseries on 35 acres of land, including six acres of his own lands and 29 acres taken on lease, at Horkoli, Sholeyasha and Rotirampur villages and Modern Mour areas in Rangpur Sadar.
There are 14 lakh saplings of fruits, wood, flower and medicinal trees in his nurseries where more than 150 farm-labourers are working and getting salaries every month to lead a better life.
“I am supplying my produced saplings to different parts of the country and selling 7,000 pieces of saplings daily during the peak tree plantation season,” Ohid added.
Shudhangshu Ruishi, 32, of Paschim Khafrikhal village in Gangachara upazila said he collects saplings from nurseries and sells the same in his van-cart to various markets and villages every day and earns Taka 20,000 a month.
Sapling seller Ershadul Haque, 32, from Horkoli Chawrapara village in Rangpur Sadar upazila, said he also collects saplings from different nurseries and sells the same in his van-cart to people to earn Taka 15,000 monthly and lead a better life.
