From zero to hero...Bangladeshi farmer in Botswana bags 11 awards

Mostofa Giasuddin Elias received 11 awards – including two first prizes – at the National Agricultural Show in Botswana. All the photos used in this article was clicked by Mostofa Giasuddin Elias.

Mostofa Giasuddin Elias had no prior knowledge of agriculture and had never worked in a farm.

Mostofa Giasuddin Elias put it all on the line in 1996 when he decided to move to Botswana to work at his brother-in-law's farm in the small town of Lobatse.

Prior to this, he had no knowledge of agriculture and had never worked in a farm. Today, however, 54-year-old Elias owns a farm set up on 10 hectares of land on the outskirts of Gaborone, the capital of the African country.

Mostofa Giasuddin Elias is working at his farm.

Although, in the beginning, it was a challenge for the amateur farmer to grow crops on semi-arid land accompanied by harsh weather and frequent water shortages, his hard work and determination eventually prevailed.

A bird-eye view of Elias's vegetables farm.

Hailing from Agoiljhara upazila of Barishal, Elias recently received 11 awards – including two first prizes – at the National Agricultural Show in Botswana, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, for producing superior quality cauliflower and radish.

Elias has also received other awards and accolades at district-level exhibitions.

"The locals here are very happy to see me employing 15 people from their community in my farm," Elias said. "Unlike Bangladesh, farming brings social respect, dignity and money in Botswana. I am very happy for getting recognised for my hard work."

A close view of a broccoli grown at his farm.

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This award-winning agricultural entrepreneur harvests around a tonne of vegetables every day, and supplies them to numerous supermarkets in the capital. This brings him $500 per day – 150 times the minimum monthly wage of $100 in Botswana.

Elias grows different kinds of vegetables during two seasons. In winter, he cultivates cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, beetroot, spinach, radish and spring onion. In summer, he opts to cultivate different varieties of beans, butternut and chili.

With his recent success in the industry, Elias now plans to venture beyond vegetables and begin fish farming. In the landlocked country of Botswana, fish farming is very rare due to the shortage of water, except in some areas in the northern parts of the country.

However, Elias will not let that stop him as he has already dug an 8,000-square metre pond in his farm and will begin farming fish once he is able to harvest sufficient rain water.

Based on his determination to follow through on his goals, the next time we hear from Botswana, Elias might have another success story to tell and more awards to show off.

fresh groundwater levels drop drastically due to low rainfall, and that is why farmers are compelled to spend more money installing artificial water sources to irrigate.

Our goal

1. Bringing Access to Finance, Access to Buyers, Access to Inputs & Advisory for the farmers.

2. “A village is an integrated agricultural farm”. Attempts to form village-to-village co-operatives to take this initiative forward are the main idea of ​​e-Farmers.

3. Delivering smartphones to agricultural households and integrating them into the digital market system.

4. Provide training to integrate into the digital market system.

5. “Rural to Global” – Arrange for the delivery of agricultural products or processed agriculture from the village to the city (inside and outside the country).

6. Bringing about the difference in farming by providing farmers with timely information, technology, and the right kind of inputs to achieve better yields.

We can bring about

Inclusive markets

Healthier ecosystems

By focusing on a single goal…

Democratizing the future