Wild Forest Potatoes on the Brink in the Hills of Tangail

Mustafa Kamal Nannu, Tangail :
In the hilly terrain of Tangail’s ghor region, wild forest potatoes were once staple food and cultural heritage; now deforestation and ecological change threaten their existence.

In the wooded hills of Tangail, especially on the red loam soils under the sal forest, there used to thrive numerous varieties of wild forest potato. For the indigenous Garo and Koch communities, these tubers were a major source of food and an integral part of their culture.
Forest‑potato gathering was not just about sustenance; it represented a lifestyle. Their houses on stilts in shifting‑cultivation zones, their routines of entering the woods for tuber harvesting, and their festivals celebrating the harvest all connected them to the forest.
However, today the forest is vanishing, and with it the once abundant forest potato is becoming scarce. Wild potatoes are not only dietary resources but also contribute to biodiversity, soil health, and cultural identity. According to global botanical research, wild potato species supply valuable traits—nutritional richness, pest and disease resistance, adaptation to harsh environments—essential for food security and ecological resilience.
In the local context, the tubers were referred to in Garo language as “thamandi” or “thajong”. Yet nowadays even the name invokes nostalgia more than tangible harvests.
A critical gap is that tuber harvesting is often not followed by regeneration. While the tubers are removed, the ecological system of forest floors, root networks, and undergrowth lacks active restoration—leading to a reduction in the food store for the communities.
Moreover, both social afforestation schemes and uncontrolled deforestation pose conflicting pressures: on one hand the intention to plant, on the other the loss of naturally regenerating old forest. This mix of socio‑economic change and environmental degradation is endangering the wild forest potato.
In essence, preserving the forest potato means preserving much more—economic security, cultural heritage, ecosystem balance, and biodiversity. It is time for local communities, forest users, authorities, and conservationists to engage in joint action: forest restoration, mindful harvesting, community awareness. Without such an integrated response, a once vital food resource may disappear.