Agricultural experts in Bangladesh long had doubts about growing oranges in the country. Omar Faruk of Chuadanga has dispelled those doubts by succeeding with oranges on flat land rather than in hill areas. Sweet China oranges have been produced in Jibannagar, Chuadanga. Large numbers of visitors come every day to see his oranges, and the nursery owner is now known as "Kamla Faruk" (kamla means orange).

Omar Faruk, of Nidhikunda village in Raipur union of the upazila, said he is mainly a small nursery trader. Largely out of curiosity, in September 2016 he planted a China orange orchard on 1 bigha of his own land in a field in Nidhikunda. One bigha holds 100 saplings. After two years of care, the trees bore fruit in November 2018. The oranges look exactly like China oranges, with the same colour and taste.

Faruk said he sold oranges worth Tk 2.5 lakh that year. He has prepared 30,000 grafted saplings for commercial orchards. This year each tree has borne an average of 50-55 kg of oranges, hanging in clusters. Since news of the orchard spread, it has been constantly crowded with senior agriculture officials, journalists, interested farmers and visitors from far away.

He said the cost of growing oranges is very low. This year he could have sold oranges worth Tk 8 lakh but did not. He has left the oranges on the trees for visitors to see and lets them taste the fruit. Pleased, they buy orange saplings, and many are ordering saplings to plant orchards. Each sapling sells for Tk 100. In the past month and a half he has sold saplings worth Tk 14 lakh, and saplings worth another Tk 16 lakh are still to be sold.

Omar Faruk said hopefully: "Sweet oranges can be grown not only in the hills but also on flat land using technology. The days of importing oranges from abroad are coming to an end. If orchards are planted commercially, the country's annual demand can be met with local oranges."

Upazila agriculture officer Sharmin Akter said: "The agriculture department is giving Omar Faruk all kinds of support. Interested orange growers are being encouraged in this regard."

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