Stepping outside conventional farming, enterprising farmer Humayun Kabir Faraji, 51, has drawn attention by growing vanilla — a highly valuable spice and aromatic crop — for the first time in Chuadanga. After four years of continuous care, his greenhouse is now filled with clusters of vanilla pods.
Faraji, a resident of Begumpur Colonypara in Chuadanga Sadar upazila, has built an integrated farm called New Kamal Agro on 18 bighas of land. Alongside fruit cultivation and a dairy operation with sheep, goats and cattle, the farm’s main attraction is a climate-controlled vanilla garden built on 10 kathas of land.
Faraji, who has long been in the fruit business, began growing vanilla after bringing in Planifolia-variety vanilla vines from a neighboring country in 2022. Using greenhouse technology to create a shaded, humid environment, his roughly 700 vanilla poles now hang with pods eight to 10 inches long, resembling long beans.
Faraji said he has spent roughly 900,000 taka so far and hopes to harvest about 120 kilograms of vanilla from the garden this season. Dried vanilla sells for roughly 30,000 to 40,000 taka per kilogram in the market. He is targeting sales of roughly 700,000 to 800,000 taka this year after processing. Growing vanilla naturally is difficult in Bangladesh’s climate, but Faraji has demonstrated that it can be produced under controlled conditions by maintaining a temperature of 16 to 28 degrees Celsius.
Agriculture officials say the high-value crop can meet significant demand in the country’s food and pharmaceutical industries. Masudur Rahman Sarkar, deputy director of the Chuadanga Department of Agricultural Extension, said Faraji’s success shows that vanilla cultivation can be expanded in the country with the right technology. “With proper research and technical support, this could be scaled up to meet domestic demand and even be exported, opening a path to foreign-currency earnings through diversified agriculture,” he said.
Faraji’s diverse success is inspiring local young people to move beyond traditional farming into commercial and modern agriculture.