Md. Mosabbir Ali, Kulaura (Moulvibazar) :
The Indigenous farmers have achieved a bumper production of pineapple at 30 villages in Srimangal Upazila of the district this season.
Local people said , the juicy and tasty fruit has been growing abundantly in the area since long, which is known as ‘pineapple village’.
Growers said they had been cultivating different kinds of fruits as lemon, including pineapple, at Tipracherra, Jerin, Harincherra, Biddabeel, Alubari, Kalacherra, Fulcherra, Longlia, Modonmohonpur, Sisilbar, Kanlenji villages since Pakistan period.
There was no intention among the growers to make profit out of the pineapple cultivation at that time. The situation has now changed and the local residents are cultivating it on massive scale and in a planned way. Locally grown pineapple has a great demand outside the district, they said.
About 300 hectors of land at the around 2000 farmers have been brought under pineapple farming this year. The village has about 30 orchards where four lakh pineapple plants were grown, said locals.
Mohan Debborma, one of the pineapple cultivators, said his late father had started cultivation of different fruits, mostly pineapple, on 300 bighas of land in 1965.
“I sold pineapple worth about Tk two lakh this season”, he said.
Another cultivator Dilip Nayek said he produced about 2,500 pineapple plants on his three bighas of land this year.
He said he was happy as the production is satisfactory.
Local sources said that traders from outside the district are coming to the village everyday to buy pineapple.
At present per 100-piece pineapple is being sold between Tk 2300 and Tk 3000 in the wholesale market in Srimangal Puran Bazar.
Contacted, Srimangal Upazila agriculture officer Sukolpo Das said pineapple is being cultivated on massive scale at 30 villages in Srimangal since long. Four thousand tons produce in the running year, he added.
Though small in size, the locally produced pineapple is very tasty he said adding that the Department of Agriculture Extension provided necessary assistance to the growers to make the pineapple cultivation a success.
