Sirajganj Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Rostam Ali received the Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award-1426 in recognition of his unique contribution to roof agriculture and departmental work.
On Wednesday (October 12) morning, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally attended a ceremony at Dhaka Osmani Smriti Auditorium via virtual from Ganabhaban and awarded the medal.
Agriculture Minister and Chairman of Bangabandhu National Agricultural Trust Dr. Md. Abdur Razzak presided over the program organized by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Ministry Sh.M Rezaul Karim was present as a special guest and President of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture Begum Matia Chowdhury MP.
Agriculturalist Rostam Ali was born on 9-September 1980 in Tahiarpur village of Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur district to Golzar Hossain and Anju Ara Begum in a noble Muslim family.
He passed 5th class from Balurchar Kashinathpur Government Primary School, SSC from Fakirhat Public Bileteral High School and HSC from Mithapukur Degree College and got admitted to Bangladesh Agricultural University.
After completing his graduation and masters from there, he joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in the Department of Agricultural Extension. He has served in different places with reputation in his working life and joined as Sirajganj Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer in 2016.
He made the locals interested in it by setting up a roof garden in his office. The roof garden of his office has numerous trees including about 20 species of fruits, 14 species of vegetables and 50 species of medicinal/ornamental. He produced seedlings on rooftops and distributed them among farmers and interested people in the area.
Organic fertilizers are used in this roof garden.In addition, in Sirajganj Sadar Upazila, he has done cultivation of Aush paddy, Mustard, Moong, Lentil, Groundnut, Maskalai, Tishi, Keshari, Chilli, Maize, etc., Sex pheromone trap, Dhyncha as green manure, Paddy planting in lines, Perching, Setting up ideal seed bed, Floating method. Encouraging farmers to increase seedling production, vermicompost productiondidIn recognition of his contribution to agricultural extension as a responsible field officer, Md. Rostam Ali Bangabandhu received the bronze medal of the National Agriculture Award-1426.
Sirajganj Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Md. Rostam Ali said that for about six years we have been producing seedlings on the roof of Sirajganj Sadar Agriculture Office and purchasing fruit seedlings with our own funding through the use of roof-farming-Sirajganj Facebook group and have been distributing the seedlings produced on the roof of the agriculture office free of charge.
So far we have distributed approximately 7000 seedlings of vegetables and fruits to 2000 people.Apart from this, in the expansion of departmental agricultural technologies such as growing aush crops, growing nutrient gardens, using organic pesticides (pheromone traps and yellow traps), seed production and conservation, growing new varieties and crops, changing crop patterns, increasing high value crops, year-round cultivation. Qualified orchards, farm mechanization, youthAgricultural entrepreneurship creation and special activities such as palm seed planting, planting of sajina pulses, seedling production by floating method and increase and utilization of vermicompost producing farmers have been significant achievements which have contributed to commercialization and mechanization of agriculture.
This agricultural officer expressed his gratitude to Sirajganj residents and said; My responsibility increased by receiving the Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award. I have always stood by agriculture and farmers and will continue to do so.
