Sumon shines in fruit cultivation
Four thousand lemon trees, 1,000 papaya trees, 500 mango trees and 300 banana trees in one orchard -- this is what the creation of a youth in Tangail looks like.
Suman Kamaker of Gaira neighbourhood in Madhupur upazila had loved plants and gardening since his childhood.
The 35-year-old was helping his father, a goldsmith, until he tried his luck in ‘mixed crop cultivation’ in 2007.
First, he took eight bigha land on lease from local farmers and planted mango, litchi and plum trees but could not make much profit.
The mangoes came out full of spots, cracks were there on litchis while the plums were not big enough in size. So, Suman included pineapple and banana in his orchard in 2011.
“I made some profit but not in desirable rate. The cultivation costs were high,” said Suman.
This did not stop Suman who again in 2014 took 33 bighas on lease and planted ‘elachi’ and ‘pati’ varieties of lemon, ‘red lady’ variety of papaya alongside pineapple, banana and mango.
He got yields from papaya trees within six months and within two years from lemon plants.
“Cultivation of lemon and papaya are more profitable than other fruits as they are available round the year. Their cultivation costs are less than other fruits like pineapple, mango or banana,” said Suman.
Now there are about 4000 lemon trees, 1,000 papaya trees, 500 mango and 300 banana trees in Suman’s orchard covering 40 bighas of land. He removed 70,000 pineapple trees last year after getting yields.
The youth now makes Tk 20 lakh profit each year. He spends on fertilisers like urea, TSP and potash, pesticides and hires day labourers sometimes. He has employed one permanent manager as well.
Abdus Sattar, a local wholesaler, buys fruits and vegetables from local orchard owners and sells them at Rasulpur market in Madhupur.
“I prefer Suman’s orchard because it is nearby the Tangail-Mymensingh Highway and Rasulpur market. This helps curb the transportation cost,” he said.
Mixed crop orchards are found at different places across the country but the land of three hilly upazilas of Tangail -- Madhupur, Ghatail and Sakhipur -- are very fertile and suitable for cultivation in such setups, according to Abdur Razzak, deputy director of Tangail Department of Agricultural Extension.
“Pineapple grows in plenty in Madhupur. At one stage, local farmers started growing papaya on pineapple fields as associate crops. Gradually over the last few years, they started cultivating other fruits like banana, lemon, mango and spices like ginger, turmeric and green chilies as associate crops,” said the officer.
“More and more farmers are becoming interested in mixed crop cultivation to make more profit and the local agriculture department is providing them with necessary support,” he added.
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