Suchana introduced new innovation to catch public interest and, to overcome vegetables production challenges in Maulvibazar. Suma Begum (HH ID 585666070023) was captured for setting the innovation of vegetables production. She received climate resilient new technology with comfort to produce vegetables in monsoon 2017. Outstanding crop production changes her mindset and she got highest production of sweet gourd and bottle gourd from this simple tower assembled with bamboo, urea blank sac and soil and half of the tower flooded immediate after plant installation on tower which gave her family pleasure as crop was protected.
Ms. Suma Begum (30), Husband Khizir Miah from Kandigaon village of Patanushar Union under Kamalgonj Upazila of Maulvibazar. She is the mother of one daughter & one son. Irregular day‐labor is the main occupation of her family. She never considered fellow land is the suitable place for year round vegetables production. She received training on Nutrition Sensitive Fish Culture in Pond and Horticulture on Pond Dike and Homestead from SUCHANA program. Her homestead was over flooded three times and pond over flooded two times in 2017 and she lost fingerlings and germinated vegetables seedlings of SUCHANA support and she got natural shock at least once in every year as she said.
Suma Begum lived with husband and two kids. Senior kid is going to school. Irregular day‐labor is the main occupation of her family and livelihoods depend on daily wages. Her family suffered from food insecurity, especially in lean period when income opportunities are disappeared in her communities. Her family lived in one small part of the house made of bamboo and tin and rests part of the house owned by two other.
| Key Success Factors * Women in position of influence through training and counseling * Community mobilization influenced and aided to raise awareness and understanding * Continuous sweet gourd harvesting enhanced fruit setting as she said * High market price and low purchasing power upturn innovation adaptation |
She lived in the North‐Eastern part of Bangladesh which is mostly traditional in agriculture; moreover, flooding of heavy rainfall during June‐September with flash flood and scarcity of irrigation water in winter resulting very low production of vegetables pushed high market price and limited accessibilities by the poor communities. Alongside she suffered from lack of technical knowledge of improved cultivation practice of
vegetables that leads to lower productivity, income and low nutrition. She has no access to productive land and capital; the destructive impacts of climate change have greatly reduced family earnings and income opportunities as increased flooding over the cultivable land which reduced the agricultural labor requirements also.
She used fertilizers TSP, MoP, Zinc and Boron and lime to enrich tower soil. One sex pheromone trap used to control fruit fly which is a very new technology to her family and she was overwhelmed as plants setting fruits without pesticides. She regularly irrigating, fertilizing, observing and examining her setting with pleasure. She planned to set the innovation in another fellow land nearby existing innovation and she thinks she will earn extra. Now, she is motivated and struggling to hire another cultivable land of 10 decimal owned by neighbor to cultivate vegetables and this inspiration from her own judgement and creativeness as she is experienced.
Suma Begum revealed her effort is fruitful and harvested highest than her anticipation. Her husband Khizir Miah helped her wife to construct trellis, to irrigate plant and, to operate intercultural management practices of the innovation and encouraged spouse. Suma sold 20 sweet gourds in Tk. 2000 and 10 bottle gourds in Tk. 600 at pick of harvesting and consumed 07 sweet gourds and 15 bottle gourd and 04 kg leaves of bottle gourd and she used her earnings to buy foods and medicines in 2017. She harvested total 120 kg vegetables and the projected value was 3140 Tk. against the expenditure 684 Tk. She feels proud being a glorious member of SUCAHAN. More than 150 villagers visited her garden of new innovation to learn. They never have seen such innovation which can tolerate vegetables during inundating flooding. Shuli Rani Debnath field facilitator of SUCAHAN was depressed and exhausted as heavy rainfall and flash flood regularly injured vegetables in her working area. She got inspiration and she reflected this innovation is most powerful to produce vegetables in her working area as inundating and over flooding is a common wonder.
