Banana boon for farmers in 10 south- western dists
Bumper yield and high demand have brought smile to banana farmers in 10 south- western districts under Khulna division.
The districts are Kushtia, Meherpur, Jashore, Khulna, Magura, Narail, Jhenidah, Chuadanga, Satkhira and Bagerhat.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) sources said 9,978 hectares of land have been brought under banana cultivation in the districts this year. At the same time, the DAE has set a target to produce 15,873 tonnes of banana.
Mentionable, banana was cultivated on 8,912 hectares of land last year and 7913 hectares the previous year.
The DAE sources further said banana cultivation is more profitable than cultivation of any other crops.
Farmers are getting more interested to cultivate banana due to its growing demand and less cultivation cost than other crops like paddy, jute and sugarcane, said Mohammad Ali, additional director of DAE in Jashore region.
Besides, growers usually can sell bananas at the fields and its market price is quite satisfactory.
A DAE official in Kushtia said cultivation of pointed gourd besides banana has become very popular in the region in recent days. Growers are making double cash by this integrated farming.
Though the farmers usually produce this fruit round the year, key season will begin in March and April.
Shaheed Ali of Bhatoi area in Jhenidah said he has cultivated banana on three acres of land this year.
A farmer spends Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000 to plant 250 to 300 banana trees on one bigha of land, said Shaheed, adding that the grower can make profit of around Tk one lakh from it.
Farmers in the region plant different varieties of banana, including sagar, sabri,
madna, chapa and anupam.
Bahar Uddin of Madhupur in Kushtia Sadar upazila said he has planted banana on two bighas of land by spending around Tk 48,000 this season.
He hopes he will get a profit of Tk 80,000 to Tk 90,000 from the cultivation.
Bahar further said he does not need to spend extra money for transportation as Madhupur banana market in Kushtia, one of the largest banana selling centres in Khulna division, is near to his home.
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