BSS, Rangpur :
Over 21,000 families including small and marginal farmers have changed fortune through farming different high-priced and quick growing variety fruits on commercial basis in Rangpur division in recent years.
Cultivation of these fruits has been increasing every year in the division following repeated bumper production and lucrative market price bringing economic self-reliance to thousands of commoners, small and marginal farmers.
According to the officials in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), cultivation of high-priced fruits continues expanding mostly through the private initiatives bringing a silent revolution in rural economy.
The agriculture related departments have been providing supports to the farmers and commoners and the initiatives have been proved effective in expanding cultivation of these fruits around the orchards, homesteads and in fallow lands.
As per an estimated statistics, over 21,000 families including landless and ultra poor families, distressed women, small and marginal farmers and commoners have achieved self-reliance in the division so far by cultivating high-priced and quick growing fruits.
Talking to BSS, Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khandker Md Mesbahul Islam said farming of quick growing and cross-variety fruits like banana, baukul, applekul, papaya, lemon, strawberry, water melon, wax apple, ‘panifal’, guava and some others continue expanding.
“Currently, some 80 varieties of the seasonal traditional fruits including 40 indigenous species is being cultivated annually in over 100,000 hectares lands including homesteads in all the eight districts of the division,” he said.
The newly harvested baukul, applekul and many other quick-goring fruits have already flooded the local markets with huge demand and excellent price and the other varieties will appear in the subsequent months.
Fruit growers Esahaq Ali, Babul Hossain, Babu Mian and Kamrunnahar said the common people are also meeting nutritional demands through producing fruits around their homesteads as market prices of fruits are going beyond their reach day by day.
“We have achieved our economic self-reliance through producing and marketing both of the high-priced, quick-goring and traditional fruits in recent years like many other farmers and common people,” they said.
Nursery owners Shafikul Islam, Mahbub Hossain, Sadek Ali and Ramchandra Mohanta said they are earning good profits by selling saplings of high-valued and quick growing fruits side by side wood, medicinal and other tree saplings from their nurseries.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said the rich can buy fruits to meet nutritional demand while the poor should produce those for the same purpose also to earn extra money and change fortune.
Deputy Director of DAE Feroz Ahmed said the government has been providing various assistances for further expanding fruit farming that has already become one of the most profitable ventures bringing a silent revolution changing lots of many people.
