Standing by the fruit-growers of CHT

Alongside the traditional summer fruit-growing areas in the country, a new region has emerged lately. It comes up with clear signs of impressive fruit yields in the future. What it needs are a few boosts conducive to fruit cultivation. The region comprises the three districts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). In the last 10-15 years, the area has demonstrated ample proof that it has great potential for growing fruits, especially the major summer fruits of the country.
Yields of fruits in the three hill districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari have been steadily on the rise during the last decade. They have increased rapidly in the last few years in terms of acreage. This year and the past one witnessed a remarkable rise in the production of mangoes, litchis, jackfruit, pineapples, etc. Guava has also a remarkable place in the list. The farmers in the region have cogent reasons for feeling happy. Ironically, despite the brisk harvest and pre-marketing activities, they are in a sullen mood. The picture at the well-known ferry points along the region's rivers will make anyone elated. But the view finally proves to be deceptive. Beneath the veneer of buoyant trading lie tales of woes, which stem from the impediments to the region's fruit production in general.
Unlike in the greater Rajshahi and Dinajpur districts, famous for their output of quality mangoes and litchis, the CHT is virtually detached from the premier markets. Owing mainly to its location in the south-eastern hilly areas of Bangladesh, the region has yet to start enjoying the benefits of its emergence as a new 'fruit pocket' of the country. Primarily a terrain of dense forest-covered hills and valleys, the large area is mostly inaccessible. It is plagued with poor road communication. In emergencies, the region's people have to turn to narrow, shallow rivers for carrying their agricultural produce to the nearby trade centres. The saddest part of the tale, however, is the farmers' inability to take the locally grown fruits in bulk to the large cities. The garden and orchard owners can supply a sizeable volume of their fruits to Chittagong, not too far from CHT. But when it comes to far-away cities like Dhaka, Sylhet or Khulna, the farmers face lots of difficulties. The foremost among them is taking their produce to the CHT ends of the regional highways; it has to be done in conformity with an intricate local transport network. Besides, the transportation is directly linked to preservation of the fruits for longer periods. It calls for cold storage facilities.
A major drawback in the fruit-growing zones in Chittagong Hill Tracts is the acute dearth of cold storages. Equally, fruit processing arrangements are also absent. Owing to these two reasons, tender fruits like pineapples, papayas, water melons and litchis rot away every year handing big monetary losses to the growers. The government's department of agriculture extension has for some time been helping the farmers out at field level. This has led to scientific planning and cultivation on the part of fruit-growers. But a lot of aspiring farmers cannot enter the scene due to lack of financial backing. They can be provided with easy-term bank loans.
The CHT region's emergence as a major fruit-growing zone is good news for the nation. Apart from bringing economic dividends to the area's people, it will also play a significant role in reducing the occasional flare-up of tension there. Socio-economic prosperity uproots many causes of ill feeling. It is time the government paid attention to the area's fruit-growers.
    shihabskr@ymail.com