Entrepreneur Helal Uddin has caused a stir by growing 57 world-famous varieties of mango on Bangladeshi soil. His farm, Fruits Valley Agro, stands on the bank of the Dakatia river in the Shahtali Bazar area of Chandpur Sadar. On a disused brick kiln he grows a range of foreign fruits and vegetables free of chemicals and poison.

A visit to Fruits Valley found more than 250 mango trees across the orchard, with mangoes of many colours hanging from every branch. Although the colours give no hint of it, the fruit is still unripe; Helal Uddin said it will start ripening within 15 to 20 days. Visitors come from far and wide every day to see his orchard of 57 foreign mango varieties.

The orchard includes Valencia Pride, Lemon Zest, Rosa Rosa, Ataulfo, Carabao, Alphonso, Maya, Haden, Sensation, R2E2, Kensington Pride, Miyazaki, Blackstone, Jumbo Red Chakapat, Nam Dok Mai, SR Mango, Francis, Brunei King, Kesar, Mallika, Totapuri and Honeydew, among other varieties.

Besides the foreign mangoes, it has 17 kinds of citrus, orange, mandarin, malta and lemon, 21 kinds of grape, 12 kinds of longan, 4 of rambutan, 7 of dragon fruit, 4 of lychee, 7 of avocado, 6 of custard apple and 5 of apple, as well as mangosteen, apricot, soursop, mamey sapote and several other local and foreign fruit trees.

Helal Uddin told Jago News that high-value, high-quality fruit from all over the world is being grown on the land. "The biggest thing is that these foreign fruits are being grown inside a disused brick kiln. Twenty of the world's most expensive mangoes are in this orchard. In all, 57 varieties of mango have been grown this year. We started work with all the world's expensive mangoes," he said.

"Last year the orchard earned Tk 6 lakh. This year I hope to earn more than Tk 7 lakh from over 200 trees. I think agricultural entrepreneurs and unemployed young people would benefit if they could grow these varieties," he added.

Visitors Mirza Zakir and Kamrul Islam Saikat said they were delighted to see that mangoes could be grown on the soil of an abandoned brick kiln. "Success with foreign mangoes in ordinary soil is really something different. We may not be able to build something like he has, but we can take saplings from him and plant them in our yards and rooftop gardens," they said.

Abdullah Al Imran, assistant director of the consumer rights directorate in Chandpur, told Jago News he came to see the orchard himself after hearing about it on social media and from other sources. "The orchard really has been built in a charming setting. The mangoes here have grown naturally and are unadulterated. I hope others will follow Helal Uddin's example. In particular, consumers will be able to come here and buy fresh mangoes from the orchard," he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.