Malta cultivation sees success in Majapara of Nilphamari
Once people of Majapara in Sadar upazila used to cultivate tobacco because of sandy land but now the locality has attained new identity as 'green malta producing village' amid the pandemic as the villagers cultivate the tasty fruit containing vitamin C that help boost immunity against Covid-19.
The sandy land has brought fortune to them as they found that it is suitable for malta cultivation where water does not stand during monsoon, said Abdus Salam, pioneer of malta cultivation in the village.
He added that sub-assistant agriculture officer of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Nilphamari Anarul Islam motivated youths to cultivate the fruit as it is more profitable than tobacco.
In 2017, Salam first cultivated 65 malta saplings on one bigha of land as the officer supplied him BARI Malta-1 variety from his office free of cost and also gave him technical support.
"A year after plantation, I collected 25 kg of malta from each tree and sold per kg at Tk 100. Thus, I earned Tk 1.5 lakh. It is very profitable," he said.
Seeing Salam's success, educated youth Moniruzaman Razu in 2018 created a malta orchard on five bigha of land.
At present, there are 35 orchards in the area, said local resident Dr Atiar Rahman, adding that Majapara is now widely known as green malta producing village.
At the beginning of March when coronavirus spread in the country, distant traders stopped buying. Razu then created a Facebook page for advertisement of his orchard's green maltas containing vitamin C that help to boos immunity and fight Covid-19 as well.
"Elite consumers from Dhaka and other big cities started giving orders over online. I sold the fruits at higher rate. I benefitted financially from selling the maltas," said Razu.
Following him, many other growers in the area adopted same marketing policy as Razu earned good profit from selling the fruit.
Orchard owner Mahfuzar Rahman said many buyers even booked their orchards in advance before harvesting of the fruit in October-November.
Deputy Director of DAE in Nilphamari Obaidur Rahman Mondol said Majapara malta producing village proves that the district has bright prospect for malta production and accordingly, they have taken up programme to create at least a malta orchard in each union of Sadar upazila.
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