Rajshahi sees Tk 75b mango production this year

FE Team | Published: July 20, 2023 23:07:24

RAJSHAHI, July 20 (BSS): Around 1.15 million tonnes of mangoes worth Tk 75 billion were produced from around 93,000 hectares of land in the northern region consisting of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Natore districts this year.
In the last stage of around three-month brisk business of the seasonal fruit, Mangoes are also selling in plenty in different famous markets, including Baneswar in Rajshahi, Sapaher in Naogaon, and Kansat in Chapainawabganj, on Wednesday.
In Baneswar Bazar, Amrapali mangoes were being sold at Tk 2,800 per maund followed by Fazley at Tk 1,800 and BARI-4 at Tk 1,500 on the same day.
Mozder Hossain, deputy director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said around 0.29 million tonnes of mangoes were produced from 19,578 hectares of land in the Rajshahi district this season.
Mukul Ali, a mango grower, said he is happy with the present market price at the last time of the season, adding this year's yield is better than the previous couple of years.
DAE Additional Director Shamsul Wadud said record quantities of mangoes were harvested in the region this year making the growers, traders and other concerned happy.
For the first time, 2,500 tonnes of mangoes were exported to different foreign markets from the region.
Shamsul Wadud said a silent revolution has happened in both farming and yield of mango in the region, including its vast Barind tract for the last couple of years, making the local economy vibrant.
Farmers said Ultra High Density Mango Planting (UHDMP) is being used widely in mango farming and this method can enhance agro-water productivity along with reducing groundwater extraction and increasing farmers' income in the water-stressed Barind area.
Witnessing the success, many more people, particularly the grassroots farmers and entrepreneurs, are adopting the method and making profit.
"I'm very much happy with and inspired by the modern farming method as it gives us more money compared to many other conventional crops and systems," said Shahin Akter (30) of Sherpur village under Gomostapur upazila.
Ziarul Islam (38) has become a promising farmer in his Chabbishnagar village of Godagari upazila as he has earned around Tk 0.14 million after selling mangoes of 160 trees.
Around 10,800 farmers also have attained economic solvency by adopting the UHDMP method that has brought a remarkable change in the area for the last couple of years.
Farmer Rafikul Islam said the modern farming system has brought a new dimension to the local economy apart from diversifying the cropping pattern in the region as the growers are getting additional income after the best uses of the method in Rajshahi region.
DASCOH Foundation and Syngenta Foundation are jointly implementing a project named IWET supported by the 2030 Water Resources Group and sponsored by the Coca-Cola Foundation benefiting 15,500 mango farmers directly, while 50,000 others indirectly since 2018.