Farmers in riverine chars of Kurigram and Lalmonirhat are increasingly cultivating ginger in sacks, using organic inputs, and turning a once-absent crop into a growing source of income in climate-vulnerable areas.

The method has spread across char areas in Kurigram and Lalmonirhat over the past three to four years, with farmers reporting steady profits, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and growers.

About 1,20,000 families live in some 500 chars along 26 rivers, including the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Dudhkumar, Jinjiram, and Gangadhar, in the two districts, where agriculture is the main livelihood, according to DAE data.

Originally introduced for vegetables such as cucumbers with support from the DAE and NGOs, sack-based cultivation has expanded to ginger due to its higher returns and adaptability to sandy soil and flooding.

Nawshed Ali, a farmer from Ghughumari Char on the Brahmaputra riverbed in Kurigram, said all 450 families in his char have been cultivating ginger in sacks for the past four years.

“It costs around Tk 25 to 30 per sack, and each produces about one to one-and-a-half kilogrammes of ginger,” he said. “With prices between Tk 200 and Tk 300 per kilogram, it brings good returns.”

Farmers fill sacks with sandy loam soil mixed with compost before planting ginger in Boishakh (mid-April to mid-May) and harvesting in Falgun and Chaitra (mid-February to mid-April).

“During floods, we can move the sacks to higher ground,” said Jobeda Begum of Char Jorgachh in Chilmari upazila, who earned about Tk 5,000 last year from 12 sacks and has increased production this season.

In Lalmonirhat’s Teesta char areas, farmers report similar gains.

Agriculture officials say the practice, though not new elsewhere, is gaining traction in char regions due to rising demand for chemical-free produce.

“Consumers prefer it because it is produced using organic fertilisers,” said Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of the DAE in Kurigram.

Ahsanul Kabir Bulu, an NGO worker who has been involved in char livelihood programmes for two decades, said the method is helping farmers cope with climate challenges such as floods, erosion and poor soil quality.

“With low investment, organic inputs and flexibility during flooding, sack-based ginger cultivation is offering char communities a more sustainable way to improve their livelihoods,” he said.