Mofizur Rahman from Shyamnagar Satkhira
Soil is not just soil, it is the lifeblood of the farmer. The farmers in coastal region have been trying their best to make the soil healthy by farming diverse crops in an eco-friendly way. The soil in the coastal area gets contaminated due to excessive presence of salinity. However, Kamalkati is a village in Padmapukur union of Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira district where there exist numerous shrimp farms around the village and salt water all around. Due to lack of fresh water for cultivation, farmers are moving away from agriculture in this village. In the meantime, some are struggling to survive on salt water and soil. One such farmer is Rezaul Islam. He has been farming vegetables all year round in his homestead to achieve food security for his family farming in an eco-friendly way fighting with the deadly saline soil-water!
Nonetheless, BARCIK has been facilitating development activities in the coastal area for a long time motivating and encouraging farmers adopting sustainable agriculture which makes the environment healthy and protects biodiversity depletion. As part of its sustainable agriculture movement and initiative BARCIK has recently launched Shotobari (Means selecting 100 households to for producing healthy food adopting sustainable way of food production to ensure nutrition for all. The selected houses are also known as Nutrition banks since nutritious foods are produced from these houses) and initiative and selected some households encouraging the members of the household members producing safe foods adopting environment friendly way. Rezaul Islam’s house is one of the selected nutrition bank by BARCIK. BARCIK provides technical supports and materials to him so that he could speed up his work with success.
Thus when asked how his life has changed after being nominated as Nutrition bank he said, ‘I used to cultivate vegetables before being selected for Shotobari. There is a pond in front of my house. I started cultivating vegetables by filling it with sand. BARCIK provided material support including technical advice. Due to the support I received from BARCIK today I have been able to cultivate more vegetables throughout the year. I could perceive that change in my life as well.’ ‘This support has accelerated my work. Now I have vegetables in my field almost all the time. I am able to meet the needs of the family just as I am making profit by selling vegetables’-he added.
Rezaul Islam went on saying, ‘In the winter season of this year, I cultivated eggplant, datashak, red spinach, beetroot, spinach, oleracea, fennel, ambalamadhu, punishak, gourd, cucumber, banana, sweet potato, pickle, bean, potato. I have sold vegetables, grass and fruits in the market that earned me a handsome amount of cash. This helps me to meet the demand of my family and other needs.’
Rezaul Islam mentioned that he conserve seeds of all of his crops that helps him to get seed during the cultivation and reduce dependence on market seeds. He also exchanged seeds with other farmers who badly need seeds. He also assisted farmers of other village with seeds and advices. Since his house has been selected as Shotobari (Nutrition bank) that is why there is always discussion on vegetable cultivation, seed conservation, production of organic pesticides and training at his house yard which benefits him and his fellow farmers. He also mentioned that due to the success he gained by adopting sustainable agriculture in the banner of Nutrition bank many people come to see his vegetable fields and they seek advice on crop cultivation. He said that he has been able to build a kind of good relationship with the neighbors by exchanging information.
The Shotobari known as ‘nutrition bank’ created through nutrition and environment friendly based agriculture by BARCIK has played vital role in meeting the nutritional needs of the family as well as conserving the biodiversity of the region. Moreover, the increase relationship and exchange and interaction among the farmers through the nutrition bank has contributed in the development of interdependent relationship with neighbors.
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
