Local farmers have started vegetable farming in 2,400-meter-long floating beds in the low-lying marsh areas of Gopalganj's Kotalipara upazila.
Project Director Dr Bijoy Krishna Biswas inaugurated the initiative on Saturday afternoon at Machartara village in Kandi union of the upazila by planting vegetable seeds on 40 floating beds.
Kotalipara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ferdous Wahid, Upazila Agriculture Officer Nitul Roy, Kandi Union Parishad Chairman Tushar Madhu and local farmers were present at the event.
Nitul Roy said: “A total of 1,500 bigha land in the union are submerged in water. We have taken the initiative to plant crops on this land as per the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. We will plant paddy wherever we can. Where planting paddy is not viable, we will grow vegetables instead.”
He added that 60,000 maunds of paddy would be produced if paddy and vegetables were grown in these floating beds.
“It will be worth at least Tk6 crore in the market.” the agriculture officer added.
Dr Bijoy Krishna Biswas said: “On floating beds, we shall cultivate vegetables. We will grow vegetables using a special method in areas without water and paddy cannot be planted. Applying soil and chemical fertilizers is not necessary when growing vegetables on floating beds. But with the special method, we will use some chemical and soil fertilizers.”
Several villages in relatively low-lying areas of different upazilas of Gopalganj remain waterlogged for a long period of the year because of the presence of 229 beels and reservoirs.
For this reason, local farmers have been cultivating safe vegetables on floating beds by following indigenous methods known for centuries.
Using modern technology in floating beds, the local farmers can now commercially grow various crops, including watermelons, onions, pepper, ginger, turmeric, cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins, tomatoes, cauliflowers, cabbages, broccoli, red leafy greens, spinach, etc.
