Potato chip making brings them solvency

Around 300 families of Srikishnapur village in Akkelpur upazila of Joypurhat district earned prosperity by producing potato chips on commercial basis. 

"After producing chips, we supply it to different companies in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong and other areas of the country," said Taiful Islam of the village, nearly 20 kilometres from Joypurhat district town. 

A small number of villagers started doing the work five years ago and later the profitable job attracted more and more people. 

During a recent visit to the village, this correspondent found family members including men, women and children busy in the work -- some of them collecting and sorting potatoes and others boiling it as preparation to make chips. 

"Usually we collect potatoes from March to June to make chips round the year. Women make paste from the boiled potatoes, slice it and dry in the sun," said Akram Hossain, a resident of the village. 

"We can make 40 kg of chips from 200 kg of potatoes. The processing needs 10 days and cost us Tk 4,000 to 5,000. After selling it we can earn Tk 1600 to 1700," said Shahidul Islam of the village. 

The locals have urged the government to arrange soft loan to help expansion of the business. 

Potato chip making has changed the life of a good number of people and helped empowerment of rural women in the area, said AZM Sabbir Ibne Jahan, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension, Joypurhat.