The fruit of fortune

Roadside fruit stands stacked with oranges are now a common sight in Dhaka, particularly in urban residential areas and kitchen markets.

If you ask any such vendor about the origin of their produce, you will come to know that much of it is grown locally.

"These come from various sources such as Rangamati, Panchagarh and Sylhet," said Mohammad Leon, a fruit vendor found near Mohammadpur Krishi Market, one of the capital's largest kitchen markets.

The 29-year-old was selling oranges for Tk 100 per kilogram on December 25 after buying it from the wholesale market at Dhaka's Badamtali.

"We get locally grown oranges between November and January but for the rest of the year, we sell the ones that come from India and China," he said.

In recent years, orange cultivation has increased thanks to the introduction of new varieties and a growing interest among farmers to develop orchards. The fruits were produced on more than 4,000 hectares of land in fiscal 2019-20.

Including tangerines, citrus fruits were grown on 7,500 hectares of land in the last fiscal year, data from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) shows.

About six years ago, these fruits were grown on just 2,000 hectares, said Mahedi Masood, project director of a Tk 300-crore year-round fruits cultivation project under the agriculture ministry.

"The fruits are also grown in Dinajpur, Chuadanga and Meherpur. It is even grown in the southern district of Bhola," he said, adding that farmers have developed orchards on nearly 20,000 hectares.

As a result, imports will decline in the next couple of years because of increased local production.

"Bangladesh's climate is suitable for orange cultivation. However, planting did not expand in the past in absence of good varieties for cultivation," Masood said.

Bangladesh imported 250,700 tonnes of citrus fruits in fiscal 2018-19 but the value fell drastically the following year, data from the DAE's plant quarantine wing shows.

"'We saw a good yield this year. Orchards expanded in this village over the last 10 years.  You will see every household has more than 300 plants," said Morshed Mia, an orange farmer of Moulvibazar in the northeast division of Sylhet.

Mia, who started his orchard with 50 plants 15 years ago, now has 1,200 orange plants to tend to.

"This fruit has brought fortune for my family. I was able to send my son abroad with the income from the orchard," he said, adding that it takes about eight months for an orange to mature after flowering.

Kabir Ahmed, deputy director of the DAE's fruits and flower horticulture wing, said health consciousness has increased and people eat more vegetables and fruits these days.

"The growing demand and relatively higher prices of fruits was also a driving force behind the farmers' decision to go for orange and tangerine," Ahmed said.

The DAE produces more grafting of orange and tangerine to encourage farmers to develop orchards.

"We are training the farmers and hope production will increase in the coming years," he added.