Strawberry farming gains popularity in N-region

RAJSHAHI, Feb 17 (BSS): Strawberry farming has been gaining popularity in Rajshahi region for economic prospect of the cash crop.
Abul Kalam, a farmer of Darusha village under Paba upazila, said strawberry, a succulent fruit popular in different parts of the globe, is also gradually becoming popular among the local people.
Farmers' level extension of strawberry farming can bring a new horizon to the agriculture sector in the region.
Prof Dr AKM Rafiul Islam of Department of Botany of Rajshahi University says strawberry cultivation is as easy as growing potato or eggplant.
Saplings can be planted in rows during the period between November and December every year.
Illustrating salient feature of strawberry, a high-value cash crop, he said the plants start flowering within one month of plantation and fruits can be collected till March.
"Each plant bears around 250 to 300 grams of fruit and some 6,000 plants can be grown on one bigha of land," Dr Islam said, adding with farmer-level price of around Taka 600 per kg, the commercially potential fruit will have a bigger market locally and globally and benefit farmers enormously.
Now, a large number of people, mostly unemployed youths, have become dependent on strawberry farming to earn a living, as its cultivation is easier and more profitable than other crops, he said.
The youths are supplying strawberry to different markets across the country as the soft fruit is being used in preparing ice-cream, jam, jelly, pickles, chocolates and biscuits.
Prof Dr Manzur Hossain, who is a pioneer in the country's strawberry research, variety innovation and growers' level farming expansion, said Bangladeshi strawberry variety has been adjudged as the world's best strawberry.
"We have innovated three varieties of strawberry through applying tissue culture method," he said.
"In the demonstration field, all those were found adaptive to the region's soil and environmental conditions," Prof Dr Hossain, another teacher of Botany, added. He has been multiplying the variety on his own horticulture farm for the last couple of years. The new variety of strawberry can be harvested within two and a half months of its plantation and a farmer can earn around Tk 0.15 million by farming it on one bigha of land with expenditure of only Tk 30,000, he said.
With farmer-level price of around Tk 300 per kg, the commercially potential fruit will have a bigger market locally and benefit farmers enormously, the pioneer said while talking to the news agency.
In 2003, three varieties yielded encouraging results and were found suitable in local climate.
Strawberry farming is already in motion in many districts under the region. With the average price of a kg of the fruit standing at Tk 700, the commercially viable fruit presents great export potentials and ushers in economic prospects for those who wish to get high and fast returns from limited land resources.
ATM Rafiqul Islam, deputy manager (Agriculture) of the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, said there has been a bright prospect of farming strawberry everywhere in the country excepting the coastal districts.
The red juicy and nutritious fruit produced by him is now being supplied to posh markets in the capital Dhaka.
The country can earn huge foreign currencies from strawberry export if its commercial farming starts at national level, he hoped.
"The fruit will no doubt be a profitable crop for farmers. If it is grown on a large scale, the highly nutritious fruit will come within the reach of the common people. There will be no need for imports," said Agriculturist Rafique.