Bharasapur Bazar is just eight kilometers away from the Khulna-Mongla highway. From here, a little further towards Mars, I saw the signboard of Future Organic Farm. I went inside with curiosity. 3 varieties of paddy, 14 varieties of vegetables, 6 varieties of fruits and 4 varieties of vegetables are being cultivated there.
Entrepreneur Syed Abdul Matin came forward and said that he does not use any chemical pesticides. Controls insects with oil made from mahogany seeds. Mahogany seed powder or cake is also used as fertilizer. And a kind of drink made from the extract of mahogany leaves.
A small tin house was also spotted on this organic farm of the future. That is Abdul Matin's biotechnology laboratory. Put mahogany oil in the drum there. Organic fertilizer made from mahogany seeds in sacks. Crop seeds are also kept in different jars. Syed Abdul Matin used to come to this farm by bus from his small house in Khulna city every day. Work all day and go back in the evening.
Abdul Matin said that mahogany seeds and leaves taste as bitter as neem. There are so many qualities in it because of that bitter taste. On the streets, he did not stop inventing so much from the neglected mahogany seeds in the garden. Teachers from three universities in the country and scientists from four research institutes have handed over his invention. Tested its effectiveness. Everyone has checked and confirmed its success.
This former deputy assistant agricultural worker of the Department of Agricultural Extension did not stop at just doing research. Those three inventions made from mahogany seeds have been recognized nationally. The agency under the Ministry of Industry has received intellectual property from the Department of Intellectual Property, Design and Trademarks. Herbal drinks and organic fertilizers were recognized in 2013 and the initial recognition of the intellectual property rights of organic pesticides was matched this year.
Asked why he was interested in researching mahogany seeds, Smt. Position Name Village Agricultural Worker. The village home is Rampal, so the posting was given there. 'I stopped talking and asked again why he was interested in mahogany or how he came to know about its qualities. Said, ‘Then I work in Rampal. I once went to Chapainawabganj in 1999 for a training program on integrated pest management. There I was trained on organic pesticides. From there I learned about the various properties of neem as a pesticide. '
He paused and said again, ‘But when I come to the area, I see that there are not many neem trees. So what will be the organic pesticide? One day, Abdul Gani, a farmer from a neighboring village, challenged another farmer, Maruf, saying, "If you can eat three mahogany seeds, you will get 500 rupees." The young man took the challenge and chewed three mahogany seeds one by one. Then he distorted his face and vomited. Later I grabbed him and brought him home. '
The bitter taste of mahogany seeds showed the way to Matin who was looking for a neem tree. Rampal noticed the mahogany trees on the side of the road next to the Department of Agricultural Extension office, its leaves were in shape, nowhere near insects. After searching the internet for mahogany tree in English, he found out that indigenous peoples of several countries in Africa and East Asia make herbal medicine from the leaves and seeds of this tree.
Abdul Matin learned from an article published in a journal that indigenous people in South Africa use mahogany seed oil to get rid of head lice. Knowing this information, he sprinkled the oil on the tree insects and saw that they were dying. In the case of rice in particular, we saw that the pests, leaf-burning insects and brown grasshoppers did not attack. However, the insects that ate the eggs of other harmful insects and prevented their reproduction did not die.
At the end of the year, Matin noticed that crops sprayed with mahogany oil had been prevented from using insecticides without the use of chemical pesticides. The next year he saw mahogany seed powder at the base of the tree and saw that the yield was better without any other fertilizer. He contacted the scientists of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRI) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) about the issue. They encouraged and advised to test it on more crops.
After further investigation, Abdul Matin came to know that indigenous people of China, Malaysia, South Africa, Gambia and Nigeria consume mahogany leaf juice during various ailments including fever and typhoid. Abdul Matin also made a kind of drink by extracting mahogany leaf extract. Then he saw people with fever eating it. He found the results satisfactory.
Abdul Matin said three and a half kg of mahogany seeds were soaked with 10 liters of water and 10 grams of detergent powder for three to four days. When the seeds are soft, the juice is crushed with a machine. It contains one liter of oil. He uses mahogany seed husks and silt as fertilizer.
After the pesticide was made from mahogany oil in 2000, top government officials visited his farm at various times. Solaiman Fakir, a professor at the Bangladesh Agricultural University, researched and found that using it eliminates rice insects. Nesar Ahmed, a researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has found that the oil is effective in eliminating insects and dried insects that invade fish pollen. Ruhul Amin of Bangladesh Haor and Wetlands Board and Nizam Uddin, a teacher at Haji Danesh University of Science and Technology, have studied the effectiveness of this oil in eradicating vegetable insects. They told Prothom Alo that they have got positive results.
SSK Chowdhury, a professor in the Department of Pharmacy at Jahangirnagar University, has applied this oil on rats, which does not cause any physical harm to rats.
Abdul Matin noticed that spraying mahogany oil not only controls the pests of the crop, but also repels mosquitoes. In addition to this, if you eat mahogany extract, then it is an antiseptic for cattle. Matin has also been found to be effective in controlling ants and termites.
Abdul Matin said thousands of studies are being done on the effectiveness of neem in India. Statewide there are many initiatives to popularize neem. They have also taken the patent of neem in the name of their country. There are not so many neem trees in our country. But there are billions of mahogany trees. There is no cost other than the wages of the workers to bring it down from the trees.
Hamidur Rahman, Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension, told Prothom Alo that Abdul Matin's invention is being spread in the field. Mahogany oil is being used as an organic pesticide in the government's integrated pest management program. This oil has been taken from Abdul Matin for two years.
Abdul Matin said if mahogany seed oil and organic fertilizer could be spread across the country, non-toxic vegetables and crops could be given to the people. The additional cost of chemical fertilizers and pesticides will be reduced. "If the government wants to spread this technology nationally, I will hand over my own invented technology to the government," he said. The next generation will get non-toxic food.
thank you so much
Very very nice article