RANGPUR, July 01 (BSS): In recent years, a silent revolution has taken place in commercial banana cultivation in the Rangpur agricultural region due to high profits at low cost, making many farmers self-reliant.
Due to favourable soil and weather, repeated bumper harvests and satisfactory prices, banana cultivation has become a highly profitable and popular venture in the region.
However, due to the lack of proper storage and advanced processing systems, a huge quantity of bananas is wasted every year, which has become a major obstacle to the sector's potential.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), bananas are cultivated in all five districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari in the Rangpur agricultural region.
Varieties of bananas, including Sagar, Malbhog, Chini Champa and Meher Sagar, are cultivated extensively.
Many young and educated entrepreneurs are now turning to banana farming because it offers high profits with little capital and less effort.
However, the problem arises after harvesting. Bananas are a perishable fruit, so if they are not sold quickly in the market after being harvested, they rot.
According to DAE sources, in the 2022-23 fiscal year, 112,357 metric tonnes of bananas were produced on 4,208 hectares of land in the region.
In the 2023-24 fiscal year, 134,227 metric tonnes of bananas were produced on 4,356 hectares of land in the Rangpur agricultural region. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, farmers cultivated bananas on 4,077 hectares of land and produced 134,916 metric tonnes across the five districts of the region. These bananas are sold for crores of taka every day at Shothibari Hat in Mithapukur Upazila of Rangpur, Palashbari Hat and Phansitola Hat in Gaibandha along the Rangpur-Dhaka highway, and at many other places. Farmers Hamidur Rahman, Bakul Mia and Anwar Hossain, of Takeya village in Mithapukur Upazila of Rangpur, said they have been able to improve their livelihoods by cultivating bananas over the past few years.
However, when they harvest large quantities of bananas, they have to sell them to middlemen and fariahs at low prices due to the lack of cold storage or specialised storage facilities.
"If there is even a slight delay, the bananas start to spoil. This does not bring the expected profit," said farmer Anwar Hossain.
As many as 1,000 banana saplings can be planted on one acre of land. If the crop is good, a bunch of bananas sells for Tk 450 to Tk 600.
