Farmers urged to cultivate strawberry on large scale

The cultivation of strawberry has been gaining popularity among the farmers of the district as it is very profitable.
Department of Agricultural Extension has continuing motivational campaign at farmers level to cultivate it on a large scale as it has become one of the most potential and profitable crops.
Responding to their call 50 farmers of the district have cultivated strawberry on 70 bighas of land during the current season.
A motivational meeting on the strategies of strawberry cultivation organised by the DAE and successful strawberry cultivator Protap Ghosh was held at village Analertari under Kholahati union of sadar upazila recently.
Deputy commissioner of the district M Shahidul Islam attended the function and addressed it as chief guest and deputy director of DAE Ashim Kumar Paul was present as special guest.
Presided over by upazila nirbahi officer Ashib Ahsan, the meeting was also addressed, among others, by crops production specialist Satya Brata Paul, upazila agriculture officer M Mozaffar Rahman, DAE officer Sasthy Chandra Roy and cultivator Protap Ghosh.
Speaking on the occasion DC M Shahidul Islam urged the farmers particularly the well off ones to come forward with to cultivate strawberry on a large scale to get more benefit and to advance the district towards development.
Mentioning the strawberry as magic fruit and high valued crop DD of DAE Ashim Kumar Paul emphasised the need for using of organic fertiliser particularly cow dung and changing the plot after two years farming it at a stretch to get desired production of the fruit.
Farmer Protap Ghosh said being motivated by the officials of DAE he had cultivated it on eight bighas of land for the first time taking the saplings from Dr Manjur Hossain, a professor of botany department of Rajshahi University, who started strawberry farming using tissue culture. He also said two tonnes of strawberry were harvested till March 19 and Tk 20 lakh was earned by selling those in the market in the capital.
He also expected that more two tonnes of strawberry would be produced during the current season.
He also put emphasis on the development of marketing system through creating the linkage between the cultivators and the businessmen in big cities including Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna to ensure more benefit of the farmers.

Courtesy of BSS via NewAgebd