Saudi date farming in Narsingdi

NARSINGDI, Sept 14 (BSS): Farmers, specially unemployed youths, are now commercially farming the dates of Saudi Arabia due to its economic prospect in Belabo upazila of the district.
Tajul Islam, of Char Kasim Nagar village at Binnabaid union of Belabo upazila, first started cultivating date trees in his homestead garden collecting saplings and seeds from Saudi Arabia in 2014.
He said when he used to work in a date-tree garden in Saudi Arabia, he thought about setting up a same garden in his homestead in Narsingdi.
In 2014, Tajul returned home with three saplings and huge seeds of date trees.
He planted the three saplings in his homestead garden. Of those, one tree bears fruits and he began harvesting since August this year.
Tajul has so far plucked 10kg dates from one tree and hope to get more 20kg this season.
He, by this time, grows more date saplings by sowing seeds brought from Saudi and changed his lot by selling the saplings at Tk 1000 to 1200 each.
He also planted over 200 saplings on his homestead garden and other lands.
Deputy Director at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Narsingdi, Shovan Kumar Dhar said that the cultivation of dates in Narsingdi expected to be profitable. He said, “It has great demand in the local markets of Bangladesh as the date contain huge vitamin and minerals”.