M.A. Awal, Narsingdi :The tendency of olive fruits cultivation is increasing Shibpur, Monohordi, Belabo and Raipura upazilas in Narsingdi recently. Vegetables farmers have been cultivating olive fruits though the hilly areas are famous for vegetables in the country while the mentionable vegetables produced in the areas and being supplied in different districts including Dhaka Metropolitan city. At present the vegetable farmers of the locality have been cultivating olive fruits omitting vegetables as it is more profitable in the recent market.While contacted the olive fruit cultivator Alim Uddin under Raipura upazila told this correspondent that he used to cultivate vegetables earlier. He had four olive fruit trees in his home yard and he got 1500 kg’s of olive fruit trees on two acres of land and he earned Taka 2,40,000/- by selling twelve thousand kg’s of olive fruit this year, he added. A huge quantity of olive fruits are seen at different bazars of the district like shibpur, Jessore, Hatirdia, Belabo bazar and Baraicha (beside Dhaka-Sylhet highway), Morjal and Jongi-Shibpur Bazar which are being sold at Tk 20/30 per kg in the district, it is observed. The whole seler of Dhaka and other areas are always being sold and brought the same every week. Abdul Barek, an olive-fruit farmer of village Kamerteck under Shibpur upazila told this correspondent that he become self-reliant after cultivating olive-fruit avoiding vegetables and at present he made himself a renowned olive-fruit farmer while a number of whole-sells go to him for the same.The Sadar upazila Agricutture officer Mohammad Abdul Hai told me that the olive fruits are cultivating commercially in Narsingdi which is also exporting in abroad after meet-up country’s demand. As a result the foreign currency is being enriched in the economic sector of Bangladesh. The Agriculture officer also opined that if the government take stern steps to motivate and futfil the farmers demand, it will possible to export more olive-fruits in abroad while crores of foreign demand, if will possible to export more olive-fruits in abroad while crores of foreign currency might be earned in future. A huge quantity of olive-fruits are seen in Jongi-Shibpur Bazar under Raipura upazila in Narsingdi.
