Tepamadhupur village in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur. In this village, rows of trees have grown on arable land, house yards, fallow land, and roadsides. These 20-25 feet tall trees have spreading leaves. Although they look like ordinary trees, these bay leaves have become a blessing for farmers.
Farming this leaf is bringing financial prosperity back to the farming family. After meeting local demand, the farmers are dreaming of exporting. Rows of bay leaf trees on the roads, roadsides, and fallow lands of this sprawling village are giving the farmers a glimpse of prosperity.
Not only Tepamadhupur, but also in various areas of Baje-Majkur, Chaitar Mor, Rajiv Gram and Gaibandha, bay leaf cultivation is being done. The Agriculture Department says that the number of these plantations is increasing every year. This year, bay leaf has been cultivated on 137 hectares of land. The production target has been set at 2,907 tons, which is five hectares more than last year.
In the Tepamadhupur area, we spoke to Hasan Ali, the owner of a bay leaf garden. He said that the cost of cultivating rice is high. And during the rainy season, the land is under water. If rice is cultivated at that time, the farmer suffers a complete loss. But during the rainy season, there is no loss to the leaves.
He said, leaves are harvested from a tree twice a year. The leaves can be sold for a minimum of Tk 3,000, but can be sold for Tk 6,000.
We spoke to Shahjahan Mia in the Chaitar Mor area of ​​the upazila. He said, “In the 22nd century, nothing was cultivated on the land. There is shade all around. That’s why I planted this tree sapling. The more leaves there are, the more money I get.”
He also said, “The other lands I have have also been planted with bay leaves. Rice cultivation costs a lot. That’s why many people are now planting these trees. The profits are also high. And you don’t have to work hard.”
In the same area, we spoke to Rakibul Islam. He said that farmers are becoming interested in cultivating bay leaves as they have higher profits with less risk than other crops such as rice, jute, corn and potatoes. We spoke to Sabuj Mia in the bay leaf garden. He said that the income from the leaves is used to meet the needs of the family.
Malin Das has now planted bay leaves in all his fields due to the huge loss in potato cultivation. He said, “Since the potato crop has been damaged for the past two years, now he is leaning towards bay leaves. Many people in the village are now planting these trees due to the loss in potato production.”
The Agriculture Department is dreaming of moving forward commercially with bay leaves. Syed Sifat Jahan, Deputy Director of the Rangpur Region Agriculture Department, told Amar Desh that there is an opportunity for economic prosperity with low investment. In addition, bay leaf cultivation is increasing in various upazilas of Kaunia, Pirgachha and Gaibandha districts of Rangpur. We hope that bay leaf cultivation, like various spice crops, will work to accelerate and prosper the agricultural economy of the Rangpur region.