Nur Islam has been selling tea at the same humble price for decades
Tea production in the northern plains dropped by nearly 20 percent in 2024, as erratic rainfall, poor market prices, and irregularities in factory accounting took a toll on the sector.
Local folklore suggests that a person named Sheikh Malek Uddin Akheruzzaman constructed the mosque
Cultivation of wheat has hit the lowest on record in the current season in Bangladesh as many producers opted to grow potato and other high-value crops on land previously used for the second most important staple food after rice.
In addition to its lush tea gardens and the breathtaking view of the majestic Kanchenjunga, blooming tulips have emerged as another jewel in Panchagarh’s winter landscape -- but only as a tourist attraction, as farmers struggle to maintain cultivation and earn a profit.
"It's nearly impossible to stay outside in this relentless cold blowing in from the north," said a local.
Passing by the River View High School in Thakurgaon town, a lot of eateries will come into sight. However, one that is often seen abuzz with customers is “Amena Hotel”.
The government has refixed prices at which it would buy sugarcane from farmers, raising hopes that it would encourage an increase in the crop’s cultivation across the country.
Tulips are being grown all over Sharialjoth village in Tentulia upazila of Rangpur’s Panchagarh district in a bid to increase tourism and boost the regional economy, according to local officials.
Potato growers of Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts are distraught over apprehensions of incurring huge losses for a second year in a row as the market has seen a sharp fall in prices.
Geyser, once thought to be a luxury item afforded only by the wealthy, is increasingly gaining popularity among lower and middle-income groups in Bangladesh as they heat water to beat winter.
The country’s northwestern region, which emerged as a tea producing zone in recent years, is expected to register record production of tea in 2021 thanks to favourable weather and growing interest among locals seeking to profit from rising internal consumption of tea.
Tourists from across the country are now flocking to Tetulia upazila in Panchagarh district in hopes of catching a glimpse of the peak of Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain.
Sweet orange grown in the country’s northern districts such as Thakurgaon, Panchagarh and Dinajpur are dominating the local fruit market this season thanks to increased demand and reasonable prices.
Several hundred trucks have been waiting outside the Banglabandha land port for the past 12 days for space to be made available for exports to be offloaded on the Indian side.
‘Camellia Khola Akash School’ (Camellia Open Sky School), an innovative initiative of the Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB), is eying to create expert tea farmers, develop the skills of small-scale tea farmers and flourish tea cultivation in five northern districts including Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Nilphamary, Lalmonirhat and Dinajpur.
Most of the land in Rangpur’s Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts, particularly those that border India, were non-arable just a few decades ago, when the region closely resembled a desert of sand and stone.
Potatoes produced by contract growers of the Bangladesh Agricultural Corporation (BADC) are now being exported to Malaysia, a development that is likely to encourage farmers to improve the quality of their produce in order to reap fair prices.
