Women are playing an increasingly leading role in agricultural production in North Goalia village of Ukhiya upazila in Cox’s Bazar, with similar trends visible in nearby Sonar Para and Jhilongja union areas.
Their active participation alongside men throughout both winter and summer is boosting farm output and improving household livelihoods.
A recent visit to North Goalia showed that homemaker Sanjida Islam has developed a thriving vegetable garden in her homestead yard.
She regularly tends the garden and harvests vegetables for both family consumption and sale.
Sanjida said they cultivate a variety of summer vegetables on their land, including okra, bitter gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, sponge gourd, cucumber, pumpkin, ash gourd, brinjal, chili, different types of taro, yam, and yardlong beans.
Leafy vegetables, such as Malabar spinach, stem amaranth, water spinach, and red amaranth, also yield well.
She added that by planting leafy greens and other crops in her yard, she has achieved a successful harvest.
After meeting daily family needs, she sells surplus produce in the local market, earning additional income.
Yardlong beans and leafy vegetables, in particular, are providing her with regular profits.
Local residents said that where farming was once dominated by men, women’s participation has now increased significantly.
From cultivation and maintenance to harvesting and marketing, women are playing vital roles across the agricultural value chain.
Officials from the local agriculture department said that women’s involvement is strengthening household economies and contributing substantially to increased local agricultural production.
With proper training and support, these women could expand their contributions further.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Hussain Shetu
