Flowers bring smile for Faridpur youth

Having failed to manage a job after after his graduation, Liakat Ali tried his luck in flower business and it blossomed.

Ali took up commercial flower cultivation at the end of 2018. Now he does not look back.

People involved with flower production say they are looking forward to buoyant sales in February when people celebrate the International Mother Language Day and Valentine’s Day.

Liakat started farming Transvaal daisy flower on 52 decimals of land with the help of his brother at Khusirbazar of Aliabad union in sadar upazila. Last year, he cultivated flowers in 124 decimals.

He is also cultivating chrysanthemum and gypsy and preparing bed for roses.

His success inspired many previously unemployed youths to take up commercial flower farming.

Liakat said his initial investment was Tk 2.5 million and earned more than a million as profit in the last one and half years.

Wholesale buyers from Faridpur and adjacent areas and also from Dhaka and Chattogram collect flowers from his farm, Liakat said.

“I decided to start flower farming when I was desperately looking for jobs,” he said. “I collected 7,000 saplings of Transvaal daisy flower plants from Jashore and India. Now I have grown more than 9,000 Transvaal daisy flower.”

Abu Sayed Mandal, another flower farmer from the area, said the prices of the flowers and plants were satisfactory."We’re passing busy time ahead of February,” he added.

The flower fields are not only generating employment and helping people overcome financial hardships but also turning heads and attracting visitors from far and wide.

Rezaul Karim, one of the visitors, said many people like him visit the gardens when some buy flowers too.

Kartik Chandra Chakraborty, deputy director of Faridpur Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said currently flowers are cultivated commercially at many places in the district with their help.

“We're supporting farmers who are maintaining regular communication with us,” he said. “If needed, we’ll arrange trainings for the farmers.”