Natore’s medicinal plant village yields Tk 100cr in natural merchandise
Photograph: BSS
By Farazi Ahmed Rafique Babon
NATORE, Oct 21, 2025 (BSS) – The nation’s solely natural village has now turn out to be a proud heritage of Natore.
Guests come to see it nearly day-after-day and turn out to be amazed. The village alone produces about 15,000 tons of aloe vera yearly, together with 140 different kinds of medicinal herbs together with Shimul root and Ashwagandha.
The full market worth of those natural merchandise is anticipated to be over Tk 100 crore.
The natural village is unfold throughout 15 cluster areas beneath Laxmipur-Kholabaria Union in Natore Sadar Upazila. Positioned alongside the primary union highway, the natural fields create a picturesque panorama.
In response to native sources, within the 12 months 1995, Afaz Pagla of Kholabaria started cultivating medicinal vegetation for his personal natural drugs follow.
The initiative regularly unfold throughout all the village, and ultimately all through the union.
Now, medicinal vegetation will be seen not solely on croplands but additionally round homesteads, alongside roadsides, and by riverbanks. Amongst all, the aloe vera vegetation stand out as essentially the most visually interesting.
In response to the Natore Sadar Upazila Agriculture Workplace, 140 species of medicinal vegetation develop in Laxmipur-Kholabaria. Notable amongst them are aloe vera, shimul root, ashwagandha, mishri dana, beetroot, roselle, and shatamul. Out of 155 hectares of cultivated land, 70 hectares are devoted to aloe vera farming.
From 50 hectares of land, about 1,200 tons of shimul root are harvested yearly. Beetroot cultivation in 12 hectares of land whereas 5 hectares of mishri dana yield round 50 tons of herbs. Round 12 tons of ashwagandha are grown on 10 hectares of land. Almost 2,000 farmers within the union are concerned in medicinal plant cultivation.
Sometimes, after the monsoon ends—from November to February—farmers plant about 10,000 aloe vera saplings per bigha. Leaves will be harvested for the subsequent two years. With correct irrigation, harvesting begins inside three months of planting.
Cultivation, care, and irrigation require about 100 laborers per subject all year long. In addition to natural fertilizers, farmers use urea, TSP, MOP, gypsum, zinc, and boric acid. To forestall black spots on the leaves, lime can also be used.
To manage leaf-boring bugs and different pests, each farmers and the agriculture division have lately began utilizing Trichoderma and pheromone traps. The typical yield per bigha is about 30 tons of aloe vera.
Farmer Md. Haris stated, “That is the brand new planting season for aloe vera. As a result of extended monsoon this 12 months, many vegetation suffered from rot, and we confronted losses. Seedling costs are additionally larger. However with cautious cultivation, the second-year harvest will convey revenue.”
Nevertheless, there are not any aloe vera processing amenities within the space. Farmers should ship freshly harvested leaves on to their locations—primarily pharmaceutical and beauty firms, in addition to juice producers. Hamdard and some different pharmaceutical firms purchase the leaves, whereas Taiwan Hsin Lin Enterprises, a foreign-owned juice producer in Valuka, Mymensingh, is a significant purchaser.
Every single day, a number of truckloads of aloe vera are shipped to Dhaka and different areas.
Dried and processed herbs are used to make numerous natural medicines, that are marketed by round 100 natural companies throughout 4 buying and selling facilities within the space.
Kazi Kabir Ahmed, proprietor of Bonolota Bheshoj Bhandar at Amirganj Bazar, stated, “Greater than 100 kinds of herbs are bought on this market. Wholesalers from totally different districts come to purchase the herbs. Our common each day gross sales attain round Taka 80,000.”
Natural grower and cooperative chief Md. Zainal Abedin stated, “If a chilly storage facility and a beauty manufacturing plant—for objects like cleaning soap and shampoo—are arrange right here, we’ll get benefitted vastly.”
Md. Shahidul Islam, president of the Kholabaria Hajiganj Bazar Natural Manufacturing and Advertising Cooperative Society, demanded institution of a medicinal plant analysis middle beneath the forest analysis institute within the village.
“This may assist us keep the standard and customary of our merchandise and appeal to pharmaceutical and beauty industries, additional enriching our natural village,” he stated.
Natore Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Nilima Jahan stated, “Round 10,000 persons are instantly or not directly concerned in natural cultivation, processing, advertising, or agricultural labor within the village. The scope of the natural village is increasing steadily.”
Md. Habibul Islam Khan, Deputy Director of the Division of Agricultural Extension, Natore, informed BSS, “If a chilly storage, processing middle, and analysis institute will be arrange within the natural village, farmers will vastly profit, and the nation’s solely natural village will turn out to be much more affluent.”
