GOPALGANJ, Mar 20: One Ramzit Pandya of Gandiasur village under Baulatali union in Gopalganj Sadar has become self-reliant by farming okra on commercial basis.
The farmer said okra has changed his life. He earns a handsome amount of money every week from the produce.
Ramzit have started commercial okra farming two years ago. He has been growing the vegetable origin 'Ruposhi' on 83 decimals of land.
He said okra is being sold at Tk 50 per kg in the local market and he earns Tk 40,000 from the sale.
He said per bigha production cost stands at Tk 18,000 to Tk 20,000. A total of six labourers work in his field whom he pays Tk 200 each everyday.
The cultivator said in 2015, he took part in a three-day training programme on vegetable cultivation arranged by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Gopalganj.
In the same year, Ramzit started okra cultivation on experimental basis on his own land spending Tk 1000.
Santosh Kumar Biswas, sub-assistant agriculture of Baulataly Block under Sadar upazila, said okra farming is profitable. It requires low production cost but ensures a high return.