Fruit cultivation makes 25,000 farmers self-reliant

RANGPUR, Aug 4 (BSS): Cultivation of different kinds of fruits has been boosting fast in recent years in five districts under Rangpur Agriculture Region making over 25,000 farmers and common people self-reliant.
Repeated bumper production with lucrative price have been encouraging the farmers and commoners in farming fruits, including the high-priced and quick growing variety ones, to change their lot after meeting nutritional demands.
According to the official sources, farmers and common people are producing 88,000 tonnes of various fruits worth Tk 6.38 billion (638 crore) annually on their orchards and homesteads on 10,000 hectares of land in five districts of Rangpur region.
Horticulture Specialist Khandker Md Mesbahul Islam of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) told the news agency that fruit cultivation expanding constantly mostly through private sector initiatives bringing a silent revolution in the rural economy.
The agriculture-related departments, institutes and research organisations are providing necessary supports and the initiatives taken so far have been proved to be effective in expanding cultivation of fruits in the orchards, homesteads and fallow lands.
The farmers and commoners produced 77,000 tonnes of mango alone worth Tk 3.08 billion in their orchards and homesteads this year in Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Nilphamari districts under Rangpur region.
Besides, the farmers and common people produced 9,000 tonnes of litchi worth over Tk 1.80 billion in their orchards and homesteads during the current season in the region.
The farmers are also producing 2,000 tonnes of banana, papaya, 'lotkon', jujube, jackfruit, black berry, strawberry, olive, wood apple, guava, 'pnaifal'. 'bangi', 'amloki', grape and other indigenous fruits worth Tk 1.50 billion annually in the region, he said.