Our Correspondent :
Farmer worried about litchi yield in Tarash at Sirajganj. In the meantime, the farmer is starting to sell the succulent fruit from the litchi tree. Garden owners may incur losses as they do not get the expected price of litchi. A litchi garden owner is Liakot Ali Mollah of Naokhada village in Saguna union of the upazila. With full hope, he cultivated several varieties of litchi on his 5 bighas of land, including Chini Champa, China Three, Mozafor. Although he dreamed of good yield and profit towards flowering of litchi tree, now he is in despair. This year, due to drought and extreme heat, litchi is not getting good price due to poor yield.
Liaquat Ali Mollah’s wife said, “We have suffered a lot this year due to Corona. Even after that I thought I would get a good yield of litchi from the garden. The litchi has burst in the hot sun. The colour of litchi is fading. If we cannot earn from our only source of income then we have to incur many losses. We garden owners are seeking the cooperation of the government.
Liaquat Ali Mollah said, “Even though there are many big trees in my father’s hand-made garden a century ago, this year I am not getting any yield like before. Due to lack of rain and extreme heat, litchi has been destroyed in the trees. The traders are reluctant as the skin of litchi is torn and sometimes black spots appear.
He further said, our family has this garden in 33 bighas of land. Which is the source of income for our family? Seeing our litchi garden, now many people in the area are gardening. Earlier, farmers did not show much interest in litchi orchards in Tarash Upazila, but now the interest is increasing. Therefore, if the Department of Agriculture assists with the overall cooperation in litchi cultivation, then the litchi cultivation in this upazila will be seen as an immense potential for the farmers.
In this regard, Tarash Upazila Agriculture Officer Lutfunnahar Luna said, that the yield of litchi may be less due to its temperature during pollination. We are always giving different suggestions to the garden owners to protect the fruits. If the price of litchi was a little higher in the market, the interest of the garden owners in litchi cultivation would increase.
