Narsingdi villagers attain solvency by growing lotkan at homesteads

NARSINGDI, June 19 (BSS): Lotkan (Burmese grape) production has brought smile on the face of over 2000 marginal farmers in 20 villages of Shibpur and Belabo upazilas of the district.

Farmers are very happy with the bumper yield of lotkan this year and they are showing their interest to grow more lotkan on their homestead garden and other fallow lands as it changed their lot

The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials said lotkan a local delicious fruit become popular since 1990.

A number of farmers had started small scale cultivation of Lotkan few years back on experimental basis in the radish lands of Shibpur and Belabo upazilas and achieved remarkable success.

Many farmers here gradually raised the number of orchards in their own initiative and they also now have been cultivating the fruit in their homestead gardens and earning cash.

Deputy director of DAE Latafat Hossain said lotkan tree generally grows in high fallow lands where scope of other crop cultivation is limited.

He said at present there are 1.0 million to1.2 million trees in different villages of Shibpur, Belabo and Polash upazilaa of the district.

The juicy fruit is small and round in size like litchi.

Lotkan has extreme demand because of its nice colour, sweet and flavour.

Per kg lotkan is now selling at Tk 70 to Tk 80 in the local markets.

Lotkan is also being exported to foreign countries.

The farmers are happy getting an excellent output with lucrative prices of the juicy and fleshy seasonal fruit.

Talking to the news agency, Nural Amin of Amlabo village under Belabo upazila said he planted over 500 saplings of Lotkan in his three bighas of land twelve years ago.

The plants grew well and within four years he is getting good yield of fruits.

He said harvesting of lotkan has begun from last week of Bangla month Jaistha. Nural Amin expressed his satisfaction over the production of Lotkan in his orchards this season.

Like Nural Amin, there are a number of farmers in Shibpur and Belabo upazilas of the district brings fortune by cultivating lotkan and leading happy life.