By Happy Roy from Netrakona
Rural women farmers embody resilience through hard work, patience, and experience. Their lives revolve around maintaining household stability and food security rather than comfort. Mafuja Akter from Kandapara village under Laxmiganj Union is one such example of determination and success. Through her dedication and practical knowledge, she manages her family, farming, and resources efficiently.
Mafuja and her husband cultivate 80 decimals of land for rice and 20 decimals for year-round vegetable production. Their crops include eggplant, potato, sweet potato, beans, gourds, leafy vegetables, and spices such as chili, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and coriander. This diversified farming system generates approximately BDT 150,000 annually from vegetable sales.
She plays a leading role in seed collection and conservation and has recently begun conserving onion seeds to reduce dependency on the market. With no fixed income source, agriculture is their primary livelihood, covering household expenses, children’s education, and healthcare. Through careful savings, they have improved their housing conditions over time.
Mafuja’s homestead is highly self-reliant. A pond supplies fish such as carp, tilapia, and indigenous species, while livestock (cows, ducks, and poultry) provide milk, meat, and eggs. Fruit trees including mango, jackfruit, guava, coconut, and litchi ensure year-round nutrition and occasional income. She also earns by selling vegetable seedlings and betel nut saplings.
Practicing agroecology, she uses cow dung instead of chemical fertilizers and has reduced pesticide use after engaging with BARCIK. She grows crops in planned beds and uses natural pest control methods, such as planting aromatic spices around fields to deter animals and insects. She also collects and consumes uncultivated nutritious plants.
Mafuja shares seeds and produce with neighbors and is recognized locally as a skilled farmer. Since 2021, her homestead has been considered a model “Shotobari,” (Nutrition Bank) meeting all nutritional needs independently.
