Melon farming brings profit to farmers

Melon (bangi) farming has brought good profit to the growers in the district this year due to high demand during the month of Ramadan.

Mantaz Ali, 55, a melon grower of Fulgachh village in Sadar upazila, said he is selling a melon for Tk 20 to Tk 25, while it was Tk 8 to Tk 10 last year. “The fruit looks nice, but it does not taste sweet without sugar, so villagers are not interested in consuming the fruit. Even we do not eat it,” he said, adding that he cultivated melon on 25 decimals of land this year.

Anwarul Islam, 42, of the same village, said they sell their melon in the town, and Ramadan gave them a chance to earn good profit. “I cultivated melon on one bigha, and I have already harvested 1,200 pieces and hope to get 500 to 600 pieces more this week,” he said.

Saheb Ali, 48, of Banshtari village said they use only a little urea fertiliser during seed planting but no chemical pesticide. “We prepare our land for farming melon in the last week of March and start getting the produce after two months,” he said.

Yunus Ali, 55, said he cultivated melon on two bighas last year, but only on 20 decimals this year as he did not get marketing facility last year. “Now people with diabetes are purchasing melon from us,” he said, adding that melon prices this year have made growers happy.

Abul Kashem, 48, of Thana Road in the town, said he and other members of his family like to eat melon during iftar every day. “I purchase two to three melons every day,” he said.

“I like to take melon during Ramadan as it is not sweet,” said diabetes patient Manjurul Islam, 67, of College Road area in the town.

District Department of Agriculture Extension Deputy Director Bidhubhushon Roy told this correspondent that some years ago melon was cultivated on a large scale, especially in the river basin areas, but production has fallen due to lack of market facility.

Many farmers are still farming melon as it takes a short time to ripen and can be grown almost anywhere, he added.