Happy Roy from Netrakona
Few farmers may not have formal education but as human beings they have their fundamental intelligence, experienced and knowledge based on their perspectives and make the proper use of those knowledge and experience to improve their life and livelihoods. Their local knowledge helps and guides them in protecting the soil, water and natural resources through their agriculture.
However, it has to be reiterated that farmers in our country have many exceptional and indigenous farming methods. They are practicing sustainable agriculture to nourish both soil and the environment. But it is in our society where women are seldom considered and recognized as farmers. Thus we are talking about farmers automatically the face of a man appears in our eyes. But Mala Akter is one of the examples of a woman who has been playing a cost-effective role in agriculture with her creativity and knowledge.
Farmer Mala Akter has been involved in vegetable farming since childhood. Her father was a farmer. Growing up in a peasant family, she also got married to a farmer. She used to cooperate with her husband in agriculture. But in order to boost their family economy her husband left the country last year for abroad with a hope of becoming economically solvent. In the absence of her husband, Mala has now started farming in her homestead land after doing all household chores. As real farmers he cleans the land, puts poles in pepper or tomato trees, plants seeds, etc. Farming vegetable in her backyard she meets the demand for vegetables and can also sell the surplus in the market helping her to earn additional cash.
Mala Akhter has a small piece of land. She made the land by digging the soil with a spade. She cultivates various vegetables including chilli, onion, garlic and potato in that land. After planting potato seeds, she cover it with straw so that the crop is not damaged due to excess fog. This also reduces rate of irrigation in the land. Nonetheless, farmer Mala Akhter has been cultivating garlic for the last two years using this method. It is, of course, her own method, which has unknowingly turned into an effective method. Because no one cultivates this crop in this method except potato.
Mala Akter also cultivates potato, garlic, chilli etc. on the same land. After spreading hay on the potato field last year, she replaced the extra hay with garlic. When it is time to irrigate the land, she sees that the soil is wet. Moreover, there is no grass in the land. Seeing this, she spread straw all over the land. This is how garlic grows in the land.
It is to mention that farmers in Netrokona area usually plant garlic seeds in the month of Kartik/Agrahayan. According to the farmers, if garlic is cultivated in smooth (sandy loam) soil they can collect good yields. There is no hard work in garlic cultivation. The land just has to be prepared with dung and planted seeds on the prepared land. In this method garlic plants are not attacked by any insects leading farmers not to use pesticides. But if the soil is dry farmers just need to apply irrigation occasionally. The grass has to be cleaned when it grows. When the garlic grows in the month of Chaitra, the trees dry up and fall down. Then garlic has to be collected.
In our country, farmers traditionally cultivate garlic in this way. But Mala Akhter has benefited a lot by cultivating garlic in her own method. Through her way of garlic farming she makes the soil wet by spreading straw on the land. Thus, this way, she does not need to irrigate the land. Besides, weeds also do not grow on the land letting her not spend time and money for weeding! Another advantage of this method is that the soil/roots of the tree are covered with straw so there is no damage to the crop if the fog is high. Moreover, the garlic grows fast and the coyotes grow quite large. Garlic is also less damaged, can be stored for a long time. Thus, applying Mala Akter garlic farming method all lands which do not have irrigation facilities can be used for farming garlic.
Seeing Mala Akhter’s method of cultivating garlic, two of her neighbors have cultivated garlic replicating her method and a farmer from a nearby village also has done the same thing.
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
