Haribhanga mango, fortune changer for Rangpur farmers

Around 15 to 20 years ago, villagers in Baluamasumpur village – an abode of earthen pottery workers under Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur – started growing mango saplings in broken earthen pots.

They used to discard the seeds of mangoes they had consumed onto broken earthenware pots where the saplings that followed thrived.

Other villagers began collecting these saplings and within a few years the plants were producing fruit at Padaganj village under the same upazila.

The mangoes were very tasty and we locals started referring to them as Haribhanga mangoes after the broken pots where these saplings were primarily raised, says Abdus Salam Sarker of the village.

He was among the first villagers who started paying attention this particular fruit and started growing the trees on a large scale. Since then Haribhanga mangoes have reached every northern district area and gained immense popularity amongst mango lovers.

Because of the fruit's distinct flavour and sweetness, it gained popularity beyond the borders of Rangpur. This helped change the economy of Rangpur - once known just for being a Monga area – locals say.

Produced almost everywhere in Rangpur today, the largest concentration of Haribhanga is seen in Pirganj, Mithapukur and Badarganj areas.

According to officials of Department of Agriculture Extension in Rangpur, as many as 3,000 mango orchards exist here on 2,950 hectares of land in the district out of which Haribhanga is grown on 1,500 hectares.

Total production target for Haribhanga mango this year is 40,000 tonnes, the current market price of which is around Tk 250 crore, DAE officials said.

Abdus Salam Sarker is a mango grower and owns orchards on 12 acres of land.

'Haribhanga changed the fortunes of many people here, he said adding that one advantage of this mango is that it can be grown on both high and low land areas.

Other orchard owners like Sultan Mia of Moyenpur village in Mithapukur upazila and Joynal Abedin of Badarganj upazila echo Sarker's sentiments. Growing Haribhanga has brought them prosperity

'I sold each kilogram of Haribhanga mango at Tk 90 to 130 this season,' Joynal said.

Over the last few years younger people have come forward to set up Haribhanga orchards alongside popular varieties like Misribhog, Fazli and Gopalbhog.

Khorshed Alam Upazila Agriculture Officer of Mithapukur said Haribhanga has become a favourite among people for its unique taste, high production rate and late harvest in comparison to other varieties.

'Growers get productions of 13 to 20 metric tonnes of the fruit from each hectare while other varieties roughly yield between seven to 13 tonnes per hectare. Farmers can harvest Haribhanga mangoes at the end of June when most other varieties of mangoes have already been harvested.

District DAE official said this year they will be providing training to nearly 1000 farmers so that they are able to yield a better harvest from mangoes.

Haribhanga mangoes are also being exported through private initiatives, traders said.

'The only challenge here is preserving the fruit after picking as it does not last for more than  3 to 4 days', said Khorshed Alam,a trader.

Local farmers of Rangpur want the government to take initiatives so farmers have access to easy ways of preserving the fruit which will enable them more opportunities to sell their produce.