Rokhsana and her Vegetable Garden

Rokhsana is collecting vegetables from her field

“Malnutrition is one of the main causes of health problems in our area. According to the doctors vegetables can provide the required nutrition for the children of our village to improve their health. I was encouraged by this fact to start a vegetable garden of my own. My garden provides nutrition for my family and it helps me to earn money” said Rokhsana Begum. She has been cultivating vegetables for last three years, yet found success recently. This year she invested BDT1,350 in  vegetables cultivation on 0.12 acres of her family land and made a profit of BDT5,985[1]. 

Rokhsana lives in Rampur Village, chikajhani union, Dewanganj Upazila, Jamalpur district and is involved in the Cross-border project since August, 2012. She is a member of the vegetable beneficiary group named ‘Kamala’. After joining the group she received training on vegetable cultivation and high quality vegetable seeds. 

To ensure financial security Rokhsana’s husband Rafiqul Islam tried many professions including working as a security guard and office assistant for local NGOs, a private university, a corporate office, etc. He says, “We have seen many ups and down in our life. My wife took a step to share financial responsibilities by starting her profitable vegetable garden. She might not receive much money but her vegetable garden provides nutrition for our family.”

Name of Vegetable	Quantity (kg)	Price per kg (BDT)	Total price (BDT)
Eggplant	100	20	2000
Bitter gourd	15	15	225
Yard long bean	230	15	3450
Red amaranth	-	-	800
Amaranth	-	-	500
Okra	12	30	360
		Total	7335

        Till June 2013, Rokhsana earned BDT 7335 from her garden

Shamima Akter, the technical service provider for field crops and vegetables is an important actor behind the success: “Rokhsana was in vegetable farming before but she did not have much success due to lack of technical expertise and knowledge. After joining the Cross-border project she received training and guidance from me and fellow team members. Also the improved inputs, such as high quality hybrid vegetable seed and some working capital for other inputs which she received from this project, increased productivity of Roksana’s field”. Netai Chandra Ray, Area Coordinator, Dewanganj agrees: "Roksana showed that a thoughtful action could improve quality of daily food intake and contribute to financial security of the family”.

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[1] USD 1 = BDT 80