Strawberry farming gains momentum in Rajshahi region,bangladesh

Strawberry farming gains momentum in Rajshahi region,bangladesh

 

 By Dr Aynal Haque ---

 RAJSHAHI, Feb 1, 2014 (BSS)- Commercial farming of strawberry has started gaining momentum in Rajshahi region as its cultivation is easier and highly profitable.

 Strawberry, a succulent fruit popular in different parts of the globe, is also gradually becoming popular among the local people. Farmers' level extension of strawberry farming can bring a new horizon to the agriculture sector in the region.

 Prof Dr AKM Rafiul Islam, president of Bangladesh Strawberry Association, said, "Strawberry cultivation is as easy as growing potato or eggplant. Saplings can be planted in rows during the period between November and December every year."

 The plants start flowering within one month of plantation and fruits can be collected till March.

 "Each plant bears around 250 to 300 grams of fruit and some 6,000 plants can be grown on one bigha of land," Dr Islam said, adding with farmer-level price of around Taka 600 per kg, the commercially potential fruit will have a bigger market locally and globally and benefit farmers enormously.

 Now, a large number of people, mostly unemployed youths, have become dependent on strawberry farming to earn a living, as its cultivation is easier and more profitable than other crops, he said.

 The youths are supplying strawberry to different markets across the country as the soft fruit is being used in preparing ice-cream, jam, jelly, pickles, chocolates and biscuits.

 Prof Dr Manzur Hossain, who is pioneer in the country's strawberry research, variety innovation and growers' level farming expansion, said Bangladeshi variety strawberry has been adjudged as the world's best strawberry.

 "We have innovated three varieties of strawberry through applying tissue culture method," he said.

 "In the demonstration field, all those were found adaptive

 to the region's soil and environmental conditions," Dr Hossain, a professor of Department of Botany, Rajshahi University, added. He has been multiplying the variety on his own horticulture farm for the last couple of years.

 The new variety of strawberry can be harvested within two and a half months of its plantation and a farmer can earn around Taka 1.5 lakh by farming it on one bigha of land with expenditure of only Taka 30,000, he said.

 With farmer-level price of around Taka 300 per kg, the commercially potential fruit will have a bigger market locally and benefit farmers enormously, the pioneer said while talking to BSS recently. In 2003, three varieties yielded encouraging results and were found suitable in local climate.

 Strawberry farming is already in motion in many districts under the region. With the average price of a kilogram of the fruit standing at Taka 700, the commercially viable fruit presents great export potentials and ushers in economic prospects for those who wish to get high and fast returns from limited land resources.

 There has been a bright prospect of farming strawberry, high- value crop, everywhere in the country excepting the coastal districts. The red juicy and nutritious fruit produced by him is now being supplied to posh markets in the capital Dhaka.

 The country can earn huge foreign currencies from strawberry export if its commercial farming starts at national level, Dr Manjur hoped.

 "The fruit will no doubt be a profitable crop for farmers. If it is grown on a large scale, the highly nutritious fruit will come within the reach of the common people. There will be no need for imports," said Prof Manzur.

 Due attention should be given to motivating the farmers so that they could be encouraged towards farming the crop commercially as it has high economic importance.

 Meanwhile, Pradip Chandra Dey, Joint Director of BADC said the BADC has taken various projects, including providing necessary training to farmers of the northern region, to make strawberry farming more popular.