Newly harvested strawberry arrives in northern markets

The newly harvested strawberry, a high-valued delicious fruit, has now appeared in the local markets ushering in a new hope for the farmers and their economic uplift in northern region.
Though its commercial cultivation began a few years back, the fruit was being sent to the capital city Dhaka for marketing and the same was almost not available in the local markets in the past, farmers and officials said Sunday.
Hundreds of farmers have already achieved self-reliance through commercial cultivation of the fruits during the past three years and its farming has been expanding in a faster rate in the country’s northern region.
Harvest of the fruits has already started and it will continue till May next and attractive market prices have made the farmers happy and local people are purchasing the 250-gram branded packs from the local markets.
Strawberry farming got momentum when Bangladesh Strawberry Association launched coordinated strawberry research and cultivation activities involving various seed farms sand nurseries in recent years in the region.
Manjur Hossain, professor of the department of botany at Rajshahi University, pioneer of the technology and first to launch strawberry farming using tissue culture method, said the BSA undertook a series of programmes for popularising its farming.
Strawberry farming has now become very popular and hundreds of framers have cultivated it in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Joypurhat, Naogaon and other northern districts this season.
Many others have also been cultivating the fruits at their homesteads and also on their roof tops using the tubs, they said.
Meanwhile, like in other areas of the region, farming of strawberry has become very popular in Haldharjyote village under Sadar upazila of Panchagarh since the past three years paving the way for its expanded commercial cultivation.
The Golden Seed Farm then has launched a Strawberry Nursery Research Project in 2.7 acres land in the village of Haldharjyote with the assistances of pioneer of strawberry farming Manjur Hossain.
Strawberry farming soon gained huge popularity, as its farming was also successful in the Barind area in recent years with tremendous economic prospects that prompted the farmers to go for its massive cultivation this season.
The strawberry experts told the news agency that the yield rates of strawberry might be up to 1.5 tonnes per bigha (every 33 decimals) this season, market price of which stands at around Tk 10-15 lakh on an average.
Earlier, the produce was being sold only to the posh shopping malls like Agora and Nondon in Dhaka at attractive rates when the country still imports about 50 tonnes annually from Thailand, Australia and the USA.
The field-level farmers could sell the fruits at Tk 700 per kilogram after harvesting about 2,000 kg fruits from one bigha of land and cultivating at the cost of Tk 25,000 to earn up to Tk 10 lakh every season.
Strawberry expert and ADC (general) of Rangpur Mahbubul Alam and agriculturist Kamal Shariful Alam told the news agency that the soil, climate and topographic conditions of the region are very much suitable for strawberry cultivation.
With a great export potential, the attractive fruits could open a new horizon for the farmers to earn more, they added.

Courtesy of BSS via NewAgebd