Photo : BSS

By Md Mamun Islam

RANGPUR, Aug 15, 2025 (BSS) - Many people living in char areas in the Rangpur agricultural region are meeting their nutritional needs and also earning a good income by cultivating pesticide-free vegetables in their homesteads.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said homestead vegetable farming without pesticides is helping char people meet their nutritional demand in many char villages in all five districts of the Rangpur region.

Deputy Director of the Burirhat Horticulture Centre of the DAE in Rangpur, Dr Md Abu Sayem, told BSS that pesticide-free homestead vegetable gardening has become popular among char people and is bringing more profits to them.

Along with the government, under GO-NGO initiatives, many char families living in char areas have raised their plinths and paved the way for vegetable gardening in their homesteads.

Before taking up vegetable farming as their means of subsistence, char families were living in misery alongside the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla and other rivers in the past across the region.

"Char families are expanding their homestead gardens and producing large quantities of pesticide-free healthy vegetables to ensure nutrition, improve their livelihoods, and achieve self-reliance by selling surplus produce," Sayem added.

Md Mamunur Rashid, a PhD fellow at the Department of Agricultural Extension of Haji Mohammad Danesh University of Science and Technology, said raised plinths of houses saved char families from floods, also paving the way for homestead vegetable gardening.

"Many char people are meeting their nutritional needs and earning through homestead vegetable gardening as well as other income-generating activities with the help of the government and other development agencies," he added.

Talking to BSS, a number of char people said they are mostly cultivating pumpkin, bean, Korola', Chichinga', Borboti', Patol', Kakrol', squash, Jhinga', `Shosha', bottle gourd, brinjal, green chilli, 'Lal Sak', onion, garlic and other vegetables in their homesteads.

Housewives Aklima Khatun, Nur Jahan and Bijlee Begum of Char Pran Nath village in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur said they have changed their fortunes through farming pesticide-free brinjal, adopting eco-friendly technologies on char lands over the years.

"I apply vermin compost and use sex pheromone traps while cultivating brinjal using eco-friendly technology without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides. I am getting excellent yields and profits to meet nutritional needs and earn a good income," said Bijlee.

Being inspired by the DAE, many other char people have started cultivating brinjal on char lands on the Teesta riverbed in Gangachara, Kawnia and Pirgachha upazilas of Rangpur and in other areas of Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha districts.

Monser Ali and Dhirendra Nath of Char Chawrabari village on the Dharla riverbed in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram said they are expecting to reap better profits by selling their cultivated pesticide-free brinjal from one bigha of land this season.

Housewife Ambia Khatun of Char Ghughumari village in Roumari upazila of Kurigram said she cultivates vegetables in her homesteads to meet the nutrition demand of her five family members and earn well to lead a better life.

Agriculturalist Md Sirajul Islam, Acting Additional Director of the DAE in Rangpur region, said vegetable gardens are expanding every year in char areas of Rangpur region using environmentally friendly technologies and without the use of pesticides.

"Many char families have become self-sufficient by growing vegetable gardens in their homesteads and selling the surplus produce after meeting their nutritional needs, improving their livelihood and nutritional status," he said.