For years, Latifur Rahman farmed just shrimps on his small plot of land in Khulna’s Paikgachha upazila to earn two square meals a day -- because nothing would grow due to coastal salinity.

"Salinity in soil in the coastal areas of the district near the Sundarbans hampered agricultural production in the upazila for many years till we finally found solace in watermelon cultivation in 2019-20," he says.

This year, watermelon is being cultivated across 1,400 hectares of land, about 300 hectares more than that of last year. And farmers and the local agriculture officials are both expecting a bumper output, in turn, a windfall profit for the former.

According to the upazila agriculture department, the cultivation of watermelon varieties -- Dragon, Sweet Dragon, Pakija, Big Family and Black Diamond -- has risen manifold in Paikgachha in just two years.

"Two years ago, 550 hectares were brought under watermelon cultivation in the upazila.

Last year, that was 1,100 hectares, and this time it is about 1,400 hectares," said an official of the department.

Another small-time shrimp farmer who invested his life savings to start watermelon cultivation is Ramendranath Gain. No doubt, It was a risk that paid off well. "And if the weather remains favourable, I expect a bumper output in 2022," he says.

Also read: Can one earn a living by farming off-season watermelon?

The department of agriculture expects a watermelon output of 40-45 metric tonnes, which could generate a revenue of Tk 28 crore for the farmers, said Uttam Kumar Kundu, deputy assistant agriculture officer.

For both taste and size, the watermelons of the upazila have high demand in the domestic market. Last year, the farmers sustained some losses due to Covid-19. "This year, we hope to make up for the losses," says Gain.

Also read: Corona shutdown: Khulna farmers in distress with bumper yield of watermelon

Paikgachha upazila agriculture officer Jahangir Alam says that the department is always there to ensure proper harvest. "We are with the farmers."