School teacherHumayun Kabir Joni success in cultivating sweet pumpkins in a litchi garden in Dinajpur. Photo : BSS

DINAJPUR, March 15, 2025 (BSS) - Humayun Kabir Joni, a school teacher, has
made a significant impact in the area by cultivating sweet pumpkins as a
companion crop in his litchi garden as for the first time he has successfully
grown it. His innovative approach and success have inspired other farmers to
follow suit.

Taking the initiative to experiment, he cultivated sweet pumpkins on the
fallow land beneath a litchi orchard and his first attempt proved successful.

Officials said Dinajpur district is home to numerous mango and litchi
gardens, with thousands of acres of land remaining vacant beneath the trees
in each garden. Local farmers believe that introducing sweet pumpkin
cultivation as a companion crop in the vacant land under these trees could
greatly boost the agricultural economy of the district.

Humayun Kabir Joni, 40, an agricultural teacher at Nehalgaon High School in
Bochaganj upazila, is the son of Joynal Abedin from Atgaon village in the
same upazila.

Talking to BSS, Humayun mentioned that he initially purchased 1,200 seeds of
improved sweet pumpkin varieties from Dinajpur and grew the seedlings at
home. He then planted the seedlings in a one-acre litchi garden.

In January, he planted seedlings of various sweet pumpkin varieties and
noticed more than 10 pumpkin buds on each plant. However, following advice
from the Agricultural Department, he harvested five to six pumpkin plants.
This approach has not only boosted the crop's yield but also helped keep the
sweet pumpkin trees free from pests.

Humayun said, "I've cultivated three varieties of sweet pumpkins in the
litchi garden, investing around Taka 100,000 in the process. So far, I've
sold sweet pumpkins worth Taka 150,000 to wholesalers directly from the
field. There are still plenty more pumpkins left in the field."

"I hope to earn Taka 500,000 by selling sweet pumpkins this season," he
added.

When asked about his method of growing sweet pumpkins in litchi gardens,
Humayun explained, "As a school teacher of agriculture, I came up with this
idea myself. The fallow land beneath the litchi gardens typically goes
unused, so I decided to plant pumpkins there for the first time, and it was a
success."

While visiting Humayun Kabir's sweet pumpkin field, this correspondent also
met Abdur Rahim, a farmer from the same area. He told BSS, "I learned through
Facebook that sweet pumpkins can be cultivated in litchi gardens."

"I came to see the method, and it's great to witness sweet pumpkin
cultivation in litchi gardens as a companion crop. I plan to cultivate sweet
pumpkins in my mango garden next year," he added.

Rezaul Karim, a field officer with the Bochaganj Upazila Agriculture Office,
told BSS that following Humayun Kabir's success, many litchi and mango garden
owners in the district are seeking advice from the Department of Agricultural
Extension (DAE). They are being encouraged to plant sweet pumpkins beneath
the litchi trees, with the use of improved sweet pumpkin varieties expected
to boost success rates, he added.

He continued that if sweet pumpkins are cultivated across thousands of acres
of litchi gardens in the district, it will not only fulfill local demand but
also help meet the vegetable needs of other districts in the country.

Bochaganj Upazila Agriculture Officer Nayan Kumar Saha said, "Being witnessed
the success of Humayun Kabir, other farmers will be encouraged, and I am
hopeful that farmers will benefit from good yields by adopting this method."

"On behalf of the DAE, we are offering him technical guidance, and I commend
Humayun Kabir Joni for this innovative initiative."

Deputy Director of Dinajpur DAE Md. Nuruzzaman Mia mentioned that he recently
visited litchi gardens in Bochaganj upazila to witness the cultivation of
sweet pumpkins.

"I am pleased to report that it is a successful initiative," he said,
revealing that garden owners will be encouraged to grow companion crops like
sweet pumpkin in the fallow spaces between the trees in litchi and mango
gardens across 13 upazilas in the district.

"If sweet pumpkin cultivation as a companion crop in litchi and mango gardens
proves successful, it will have a significant impact on the agricultural
sector in the district," he added.