<i>Kalomegh farming brings them solvency </i>
The medicinal plant being cultivated on 700 acres of land in 2 Tangail upazilas
A farmer at Goureshwar village in Ghatail upazila reaping kalomegh from his filed, left, the medicinal plant being readied for loading onto trucks at Sandhanpur in the same upazila of Tangail district.Photo: STAR
Medicinal plant kalomegh is being cultivated in two hilly upazilas of Tangail on commercial basis as local farmers are earning high profit from it. The plant is used for preparing ayurvedic, unani, allopathic and homeopathic medicines while herbal practitioners claim that kalomegh can help cure various complicated diseases like liver cirrhosis, jaundice, dysentery, loss of appetite, constipation, vomiting, worm, insomnia, heart complications, blood pressure and cancer. This year, kalomegh has been cultivated on 700 acres of land at different villages in Ghatail and Madhupur upazilas. Farmers have just started harvesting the plants, sources in local agriculture offices said. Hurmuz Ali of Gourishwar village in Ghatail upazila introduced the cultivation in the district in 1985 and achieved success in the cultivation within two years. Following Hurmuz Ali, other local farmers started cultivating kalomegh on their lands and earning satisfactory profits. Hurmuz Ali said Mazibor Rahman, Haider Ali, Abdul Mazid, Rustam Ali, Moslemuddin and Wahed Ali of adjacent villages are now earning Tk 40,000 to Tk 50,000 as net profit per year by selling kalomegh. Farmers can easily cultivate the plants with others crops or in any orchards as fellow crop and it needs no special care, told Iman Ali, a successful kalomegh cultivator at Sandhanpur in Ghatail upazila. "I have cultivated kalomegh with turmeric on the same field," he added. Local kalomegh growers said they spread seeds of kalomegh on the lands during the Bangla months of Chaitra and Baishakh and harvest during Poush. Farmers can produce about 35 to 40 maunds of kalomegh from per acre of land and sell those at Tk 1000 to Tk 1500 per maund, they said. Wholesalers come in Ghatail and Madhupur from different parts of the country, including Karwan Bazar of the capital, to buy kalomegh. Several kalomegh growers in Madhupur and Ghatail upazila while talking to this correspondent emphasised on the overall cooperation of local agriculture and forest departments for a revolution of the medical plant in the garh region. Kalomegh plant can grow up to three feet and both the leaves and seeds of the plant are used to produce medicines, told Ghatail upazila agriculture officer Abul Kalam. "Kalomegh cultivation in hilly areas is a good initiative and we are providing supports to the local growers from the very beginning of the cultivation," he added. Homeopath Sukumar Sarkar said kalomegh is a real friend of human as the plant has medicinal qualities, which can cure many complicated diseases. "In one side, kalomegh cultivation can meet the demand of medicines and on the other side, farmers can be solvent financially from the cultivation," he added.
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