Russell finds fortune in plum cultivation
Cultivation of several varieties of plums has turned out to be a money-spinner for Abu Bakkar Siddique Russell.
The 45-year-old from Gochkhali village in Barguna's Amtali upazila, who lost his job and became unemployed during the coronavirus pandemic, has witnessed a huge success in the first season by cultivating four different varieties of plums like applekul, kashmerikul, bansundarikul and baukul.
Seeing his success, a number of unemployed youths in the locality are now opting for plum cultivation.
After losing his job in 2020, Russell, who worked at a private organisation, thought only farming could change his fortune.
Then he decided to talk with the upazila agriculture officer and according to his advice, Russell started his farming venture by taking a lease of 2.17 acres land from one of his neighbours.
He first started cultivating malta on the leased land, but failed to make any profit.
He then switched to plum cultivation, and the wheels of his fortune started turning.
He collected four different varieties of plum saplings from Kushtia's Meherpur at the start of 2021.
Now all the 450 trees at his garden are full of plums that started ripening about two months ago.
At present, he is selling the plums at Tk 80 to Tk 100 per kilo in different markets.
Some of the trees at the orchard are perennial while some are seasonal. As a result, the fruits remain available throughout the year.
While talking to this correspondent, Russell said he is expecting to produce at least 10 tonnes of plums this season.
He has already sold plums worth Tk 5 lakh, and hopes to sale the remaining fruits for Tk 5 lakh more, Russell said.
Although he started the orchard on 2.17 acres leased land, he expanded it to 3.5 acres this year, Russell said. "I'm expecting to increase the sale to at least Tk 25 lakh next year," he added.
Russell has covered the entire garden with nets to save the fruits from birds and other species. He also employed two workers to look after the orchard.
Inspired by Russell, some other youths like Abdul Awal, Hanif Mridha, Al Amin and Harun Mridha have taken up plum cultivation this year.
Amtali Upazila Agriculture Extension Officer Rezaul Karim said Russell has become self-reliant through plum farming. Russell never applies any chemical fertiliser or pesticides in the fruits, so it has a good demand in the market, he said.
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