Shamsul Alam of Gobindganj is a 'successful farmer' even as a teacher
September 20, 20243 Mins Read
Ranju Khandkar, from Gaibandha: When an urban school teacher wakes up to break the silence, a village teacher of Gobindganj upazila of Gaibandha went down into the pond. By the time a teacher may have finished tutoring a batch of students privately in return for maskabari honors, that teacher has sold thousands of rupees worth of fish from the pond.

When a teacher returns from school and rushes to a student's house for tuition, buyers of mangoes and litchis rush to that teacher's house.

In this way, the teacher is making a big income by using his free time to build fish in the pond and mango and litchi gardens on the banks. At the same time he started raising cattle. Paddy cultivation is also done in a part of the pond.

This versatile farmer Shamsul Alam Dulu of Dumurgacha village. He is also assistant teacher of Dumurgacha Government Primary School. His attendance at school is also good.

Dumurgacha Government Primary School Acting Headmaster Monirul Alam said, 'Shamsul Alam is a hardworking teacher. He is in charge of the school when I go out for office work. Even then the school went on properly.'

Shamsul Alam has turned his retirement into a golden time by capitalizing only on willpower and hard work despite keeping the school schedule. He said, 'I spend less time outside school and market. I give the rest of the time to family and farm.'

It is known from local residents and family sources that Shamsul Alam has been hardworking since childhood. Along with his studies, he worked in the farm. After his father died, he took over the family. Then he focused on building a farm. He cut a pond of about 4 bighas and started fish farming. Plant lemon, litchi seedlings by hand. But due to the division of property, it fell into disharmony. The self-made pond is lost. He took a break for a few years. Then slowly building everything again. Many are inspired by this success of Shamsul Alam. They are also creating alternative sources of income.

Mashkur Mandal of the neighboring Kumargari village said, 'I am also inspired by the way Shamsul Bhai devotes time to the farm even after working a job. On his advice, I focused on building a fish farm in addition to business.'

Shamsul joined a government primary school as an assistant teacher in 2016. The next year he came to his village with a transfer. After that, the farm was built, but due to family complications, the rhythm fell. Finally, he started the farm again in 2022.

Shamsul said that he was interested in farming since his childhood. As a result, after getting a job, he decided to start a farm after preparing himself a little.

Recently, it can be seen that there are four ponds on both sides of the road at the very northern end of Dumurgacha village. Two of them are from Shamsul Alam. On the left hand side, there are two more ponds near the south end of the house. Both of these belong to Shamsul. Rows of mangoes and litchis on the banks of these two ponds. Gourds, zhinge, dhyanders are cultivated as companion crops.

Shamsul said, he missed this pond. Getting back and using every inch of it.

After crossing Dumurgacha, Kumargari village of Palashbari upazila is on the north side. First of all there are two ponds side by side. Shamsul has farmed these two ponds on lease.

Shamsul said, he is releasing the cells from the hatchery into a pond. When that molecule turns into a pona, it is released into another reservoir. When the chick is a little bigger, it is released in another pond. Puppies are being sold from there. This is his main source of income. However, the chicks in the pond are kept by themselves in two other ponds. Fish is also being sold from there.

Before joining the service, Shamsul took a diploma degree in agriculture. Under the Directorate of Youth Development did training on Agriculture, Fish and Cattle Husbandry.

Shamsul said that he earned around 40,000 taka last season from the lychee of the pond. And he wants to earn half a lakh rupees from the fish farm this year.

Apart from teaching, this successful farmer said that he cannot earn enough money by teaching privately in the village. At the end of the month, the student's parents also do not want to pay properly. So he chose farming as an alternative and additional source of income

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