When the soil fertility was declining throughout the country for rampant and unplanned application of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, the farmers of Kaliganj upazila in Jhenaidah have been playing significant role in improving the soil fertility.
A landless farmer Shamsul Islam of Kurulia village has been producing about 600 maunds of vermi-compost a year on a rented piece of land. As the farmers have been applying the organic vermi-compost it has already enriched the soil with over three percent of the organic matter while the existence of the same in the soil of other upazilas is below two percent.
Both the department of agriculture extension (DAE), and a local non-governmental organisation Sonarbangla Foundation had been playing role to promote the vermi-compost, said the officials of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) at Kaliganj.
Farmer Shamsul Islam when contacted at his vermi-compost producing tin- shed at Kurulia under Kaliganj upazila in Jhenaidah where he was producing vermi-compost, said as he has no land, had rented 12 decimals of land at Taka eight thousand a year. He had constructed a tin-shed and set 640 large size earthen pots to produce the fertilizer.
He purchases cow-dung, the main ingredient for producing vermi-compost at Taka two each kilogram. He sells the same at Taka 10 to the whole sell buyers.
The farmer said the buyers from Jashore, Satkhira, Magura, Bagerhat, Faridpur and some other districts rush to purchase the same against cash. Sometimes they place order over cell phone. The farmer has been producing organic vegetables at the corner of the shed from where he earns at least Taka 15 thousand every year, he said
Farmers leader Kamalesh Sharma and Sonarbangla Foundation founder Shibu Pada Biswas when contacted at a cropland, said Shamsul Islam has been following the path of renowned agro-scientist Dr, Gul Hossain and engaged in vermi-compost production in the village.
Upazila agriculture officer (UAO) in Kaliganj, Shikder Mohaimen Akter when contacted said over 300 farmers have been producing the vermi-compost. Of them there were awarded national award playing role in organic fertilizer production.
UAO said about 350 tones of vermi-compost is produced in the upazila every year which has been added to their croplands at a regular basis. Existing of organic matter in the soil of the upazila is over three percent, while the same in other upazilas is less than two percent. Regular faring of jute, pulse and other noodles related crops and application of vermi-compost has been enriching the soil naturally, Shikder Mohaimen Akter informed.