DHAKA: Rahela Begum is a 43-year-old housewife in Haluaghat village of Raipura upazila in Narsingdi district. Her husband died a few years ago, reports BSS.

As widow, Rahela had to face serious hardships to maintain her family as she was the only breadwinner. She had no alternative other than stopping the education of her two children because of poverty.

But the situation has changed. Rahela has no financial constraint now as the cultivation of sweet potato has changed her fate. Like her, many other women are playing the key role in vegetables farming in the area.

Rahela said, “I cultivated sweet potato on one acre of land. I planted saplings of local sweet potato four years ago (in 2013).”

After getting good returns, she planted saplings of different varieties of vegetables along with sweet potato in 2015.

Like Rahela, thousands of extremely poor people living in 12 remote char unions of the Sadar and Raipura upazilas of the district have successfully defeated poverty through various income-generating activities.

Local people said most of the people here have achieved success through the cultivation of groundnuts, sweet potatoes and various vegetables on the vast tracts of sandy barren char land on Meghna and Arial Khan river basins.

Beside, a number of poor people living in the char villages of the district have also achieved self-reliance through cattle and poultry raising on the char land and fish farming and duck rearing in the rivers, they said.

The local Agricultural Extension Department provided training to the farmers of char villages on groundnut, sweet potato and various vegetables cultivation. The DAE also provided them with seeds and pesticides free of cost.

Currently, the people of the char villages of the district are leading a completely changed life. They are enjoying sanitation facilities and access to pure drinking water. They have been able to reduce the malnutrition of children, women and pregnant mothers. Their children are now going to schools regularly.

Deputy Director of the DAE Lotafat Hossain said farmers of the locality have brought revolutionary changes in their lives after getting trainings as well as assistance from them.