The Tk 250m agro project where farmers had to concoct success stories

To enable year-round crop production in a controlled environment, the Department of Agricultural Extension built ‘pollinate houses’ for 102 farmers in Rajshahi division.

When the houses were built three years ago under a project, the farmers were told that they would be able to grow different crops out of season and make a profit. But three years on, it has emerged that most of the pollinate houses are not being used for crop production at all.

Even so, farmers were required to present success stories at events organised by the Department of Agricultural Extension. The project, titled ‘Agricultural Development in Rajshahi Division through the Expansion of Modern Technology’, was undertaken by the Awami League government, whose activities are now banned.

According to data from the Department of Agricultural Extension, around Tk 250 million was spent in the 2023–24 fiscal year to build 102 pollinate houses under the project. The average cost of each house was around Tk 2.4 million.

A pollinate house is a structure made of special polythene, netting and an iron frame. It is designed to protect crops and seedlings from adverse weather, pests and diseases, allowing cultivation throughout the year. Agricultural officials said the structures also include systems for controlling temperature and irrigation as needed.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, it signed 25-year agreements with all the farmers who received pollinate houses. The main conditions of the agreements include a prohibition on altering or dismantling the structures; farmers must cultivate high-value crops on their own initiative; and the houses cannot be left unused during any season.

The agreements also state that if a pollinate house is damaged by a natural disaster, the concerned farmer must repair it within one month. The Department of Agricultural Extension may take action if a house is altered or expanded, or if it is left unused.

In such cases, the cost of constructing the pollinate house must be returned to the government treasury within seven days. Failure to repay the money may result in legal action by the department.

Farmers who owned land and were interested in receiving a pollinate house were brought under the project. They did not have to contribute any money. One bigha of land is required for a house. A net house is built on more than 25 per cent of the plot, while the rest is left open around it. Polythene is placed above the netting to control temperature.

According to officials, this allows 60 per cent of the temperature to be controlled. A ‘mixed irrigation’ system can also spray water in a mist to lower the temperature. When the temperature inside the house rises, the mist system needs to be activated every 10 minutes, bringing the temperature back under control.

The crops listed as suitable for cultivation in these pollinate houses include capsicum, tomatoes, broccoli, squash, strawberries, melons, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, lettuce and Chinese greens. Flowers such as roses, gerberas, tuberoses and marigolds are also listed.

Farmers say those who were already professional nursery seedling producers or flower growers have benefited from the pollinate houses. But none of the farmers has been able to grow vegetables out of season. Many have planted grapevines in the abandoned houses. Some planted grapes after seeing them produce successfully in other houses, while others planted them simply because they felt they had to grow something.

The farmers allege that the pollinate houses were not durable because low-quality materials were used in their construction. For the same reason, they say, it is impossible to control the temperature inside the houses.

Agricultural officials, on the other hand, claim that the farmers failed because they did not follow the advice given to them.

Failure from one field to another

Of the 102 pollinate houses, 22 are in Rajshahi district, 29 in Natore, seven in Naogaon, six in Chapainawabganj, 17 in Pabna, six in Joypurhat, 11 in Bogura and four in Sirajganj. In addition, there are plans to build nine more pollinate houses at horticulture centres in different districts of Rajshahi division under the project.

Prothom Alo spoke to 16 people who received pollinate houses from the Department of Agricultural Extension last August. They included three farmers from Ishwardi upazila in Pabna, two from Bagha upazila in Rajshahi, one from Charghat, three from Paba, two from Gomastapur upazila in Chapainawabganj, one from Manda, one from Raninagar and one from Naogaon Sadar.

There was also one farmer from Bogura Sadar and one from Joypurhat Sadar. Ten of them said they were suffering substantial losses from cultivating the houses. Six, however, said they had not incurred losses. Of those six, four said they had succeeded in producing seedlings, one in growing grapes and one in cultivating flowers.

This reporter visited seven pollinate houses in the field. Three were in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna, two in Bagha upazila of Rajshahi and two in Paba upazila. Four of the houses were found with torn polythene coverings. In one, the polythene had been completely removed.

Nazrul Islam, a farmer from Bakhtarpur village in Ishwardi upazila, Pabna, said he could have earned Tk 100,000 a year by leasing out the land instead of cultivating it in the pollinate house.

On 30 August, a visit to Bakhtarpur village found that there was no polythene covering on Nazrul Islam’s pollinate house. Only the frame remained standing. He had planted pointed gourd inside it.

Nazrul Islam said none of the crops he had tried to grow inside the house had succeeded. On top of that, he had to pay the lease value of the land every year. The temperature inside was so high that none of his workers wanted to work there. He was therefore forced to remove the polythene covering.

At Shahinuzzaman’s pollinate house in Mahadebpur village, Ishwardi, he was found growing summer tomatoes. He had planted the seedlings in early August, and only the tops of a few plants were visible. Earlier, in mid-July, he had planted bitter gourd, but the plants had not grown well. A few bitter gourds could be seen on some vines. After seeing that nothing was working, he planted grapevines along one side of the house.

At Beli Begum’s house in Jagannathpur village, next to Mahadebpur, spinach and tomatoes had been planted. But the condition of the crops was very poor. The polythene on one side had been removed, and the greens on that side were in somewhat better condition.

Murtaza Ahmed of Baragachhi village in Paba upazila, Rajshahi, said he had not earned even a single taka from any crop grown in the house so far. Instead, he had spent Tk 1 million.

Problems faced by the farmers

The farmers say they were given no training on how to operate the pollinate houses. However, one year after the houses were installed, they were invited to an experience-sharing meeting at the Pabna Horticulture Centre, and another such meeting was held two years later at the Nittor Horticulture Centre.

Discussions were held there about what had gone wrong, and several agricultural experts offered advice. Apart from this, the farmers received no further training.

Masud Rana, a farmer from the Betgari area of Raninagar upazila in Naogaon, claims he incurred a loss of Tk 1 million after setting up a pollinate house. He told Prothom Alo that a meeting was held at the Pabna Horticulture Centre a year later to discuss the farmers’ experiences.

An expert attended the meeting and, after hearing about their failures, advised them to use seeds from a foreign company.

Masud Rana said the farmers present were reluctant to buy the seeds after hearing their price. He alone bought capsicum and tomato seeds for Tk 100,000. He then spent another Tk 300,000 to cultivate them. But after harvesting, he found that the yield was less than half of what he would have obtained by growing the crops outdoors.

Masud Rana alleged that the technicians who came to construct the pollinate houses had said polythene with a thickness of at least 200 microns was supposed to be used. In reality, he said, the polythene provided was less than 100 microns thick. He believes this and other defects are why the project has failed.

Abdul Latif, another farmer from Naogaon Sadar, said, “They built this with substandard materials. It is tearing apart. Now I have planted grapes just for show, so that they can say something is being grown here.”

The pollinate houses have an irrigation device called a ‘sprinkler’. It can be used to irrigate crops as well as spray liquid fertiliser and pesticides. There is also a ‘mixed irrigation system’. This system can spray water in a mist, like fog, to lower the temperature. It can also deliver water drop by drop to the base of plants through a ‘drip system’.

Some success in seedling production and flower cultivation

Farmers say those who were already professional seedling producers have benefited from the pollinate houses. They used to build polythene sheds themselves to produce seedlings. Now that they have these houses, they no longer need to build those sheds. Professional flower growers have also benefited.

Elias Sheikh of Naldanga, Natore, is a seedling producer. He has managed to make a profit from his pollinate house. Sadikul Islam, a farmer from Chapainawabganj, also said he had succeeded by growing flowers. He has cultivated gerberas in his house.

Monowar Hossain, a farmer from Yusufpur village in Charghat, produces various seedlings in his net house. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, he has been successful. Monowar Hossain, however, said he had tried growing bitter gourd and rock melon, but neither performed well. He obtained a good yield only from grapes.

Aminul Islam, a farmer from the Joypurhat Sadar area, has made a profit by producing seedlings of various flowers and fruit plants, including cacti, in his pollinate house. Describing himself as a hobby farmer, he said, “No one else has experience like mine.” He travelled to India at his own expense to gain experience in pollinate-house cultivation. He said that apart from him, no one in Joypurhat had managed to do well.

After monitoring the pollinate houses for more than two years, project officials say 80 per cent of the area inside the houses can be used for seedling production. Grapes, capsicum, summer tomatoes and gerberas can be grown in the remaining area.

They had to invent success stories

A farmer in Naogaon tried to grow 28 different types of crops in his pollinate house over the past three years. He failed with every one of them.

The farmer, who did not want his name published, told Prothom Alo that one year after the project began, the Department of Agricultural Extension organised an experience-sharing event at the Pabna Horticulture Centre where everyone was forced to make up stories of success.

Sub-assistant agricultural officers were kept on strict watch to ensure that the farmers spoke about their successes. But at one point, a farmer accidentally blurted out the truth. After that, everyone revealed their stories of failure. The situation became chaotic.

Two years ago, several training workshops were held for the farmers in Natore. Farmers from Rajshahi, Bogura, Naogaon, Natore, Chapainawabganj, Sirajganj, Joypurhat and Pabna attended. At the time, several farmers submitted a signed application to the project director. It said the pollinate houses were unsuitable for cultivation and called for them to be repaired and appropriate seeds to be supplied.

At that training, the Department of Agricultural Extension promoted a farmer from Bogura Sadar as a success story. Prothom Alo spoke to him by phone on 2 September. He said, “It has now become a project just for show, and the authorities know it.”

The ‘Agricultural Development in Rajshahi Division through the Expansion of Modern Technology’ project has a total budget of Tk 1.87 billion. Besides the pollinate houses, 10,733 pieces of agricultural equipment have been provided to farmers under the project at a 70 per cent subsidy. The project has also included farmer training, training for agricultural officers and training workshops. Demonstrations of agricultural technologies have been arranged at the field level. In addition, two buildings have been constructed for the Department of Agricultural Extension in Bogura and Rajshahi.

Each building was planned as a four-storey structure, but only three floors have been completed. The two buildings cost Tk 115 million to construct.

No one is standing by the farmers

Conversations with farmers revealed that people involved in the project had initially told them that if any problems arose with the pollinate houses within five years, the government would repair them. Later, they were told the period was three years. In the end, however, the farmers found themselves without anyone to turn to after just one year.

S M Hasanuzzaman, additional director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, is serving as project director of the ‘Agricultural Development in Rajshahi Division through the Expansion of Modern Technology’ project. Responding to the farmers’ complaints, he said the farmers were unwilling to work hard and did not follow the advice given to them. That was why they had failed, he said.

Regarding the various complaints made by the farmers, Hasanuzzaman said, “Our farmers are all impatient. No one was forced to take a pollinate house. It is a sustainable technology for growing grapes. We are now advising the farmers to grow grapes.”

Asked why farmers should grow grapes inside the houses when grapes can also be grown outdoors, Hasanuzzaman said, “They grow better inside than outside.” Regarding training for the farmers, he said experts in the country had been engaged to provide training. “Gerberas are doing very well. Those who are growing them are making profits,” he said.

Asked how long the maintenance period was, project director Hasanuzzaman said the project was for five years. The contractor would provide free service for one year, he said, while torn polythene would be repaired for three years.

The pollinate house of Sarwar Hossain, a farmer from Darusha village in Paba upazila of Rajshahi, was damaged in a storm. He says it would cost Tk 70,000–80,000 to repair.

Claiming that he had lost nearly Tk 500,000 while trying to grow crops, he said the low quality of the pollinate house made it impossible to control the temperature. Crops also failed to grow properly. In this situation, he said, he could not afford to spend more money repairing the house.

Prothom Alo spoke to Ahsanul Haque, a professor at the Faculty of Agriculture of Gazipur Agricultural University, about the project. He said cultivation in pollinate or greenhouse structures is common in cold countries to protect crops from low temperatures.

In Bangladesh, however, such houses must be designed to maintain temperature, humidity and air circulation at levels suitable for the crops being grown. There should also be provisions to regulate temperature according to the requirements of individual crops.

But, he said, Bangladesh’s pollinate houses have essentially the same arrangements for all crops. That, he believes, is why the project is failing.