A young agro enthusiast helping farmers in Tangail
When the pandemic hit and in-person classes at universities were suspended, Shakil Ahmed, then a final-year student of agriculture department at Noakhali Science and Technology University, had returned home. But he refused to sit idle, and so, asked his father for a plot of land to farm squash. The yield was massive as he followed modern methods. After that, he cultivated more vegetables and fruits, including cucumber, melon and watermelon on more land. This time too, he received his expected results. Other farmers of the village were surprised and came to see how he was making it all possible. They started seeking Shakil's advice on their own farming methods. Now a master's student in the soil science department at Bangladesh Agricultural University, the 26-year-old is teaching other farmers at Gamjani village in Tangail's Delduar upazila various modern farming techniques. He is educating them on producing more crops at a low cost using modern methods and cultivating each crop at the right time. Jahidur Rahman Jahid, a resident of the village, said he was sitting at home unemployed after returning from Malaysia because of Covid-19. "Following Shakil's advice, I received a good yield by planting squash in my land. He also showed me how I can profit more by cultivating wheat or maize instead of paddy," said Jahid. Abdul Latif Miah, a farmer from Gamjani village, said, "When I wanted to cultivate maize on my land, Shakil showed m