Year-round moringa trees planted along roadsides in Birampur upazila of Dinajpur have started to bear drumsticks. About 4,000 trees were planted around January this year, and their pods are now reaching local markets.
Upazila agriculture officer Kamal Krishna Roy said the trees line roads in the Bijul, Ayra, Ketrahat, Shibpur, Bhaigarh and Katla areas. The scheme, he said, can raise moringa output and add to the local supply of a nutritious vegetable.
At Birampur's market a kilo of drumsticks now sells for Tk 200 to 210 wholesale and Tk 250 to 260 retail. Traders said demand is strong enough that moringa is also being sent to Dhaka and other parts of the country.
Farmers Mozahar Ali and Yasin Ali of Bhelarpar village have two moringa trees at home that bore well this year. After meeting their own needs and giving some to relatives, they sell the surplus at the local market. A tree or two beside the house, they say, goes a long way towards a family's vegetables.
A vegetable seller said moringa is in demand during the season but buyers take less when the price is high, so a larger supply could lift sales. Year-round trees that bear at different times would also let moringa be sold outside the usual season.
Agriculture people say that if production and marketing are coordinated, year-round moringa could move beyond the homestead into a commercial crop, and Birampur's 4,000 roadside trees are an early sign of that.
Reporting: Dinajpur correspondent, Krishi Shomoy
Photo: Krish Dulal / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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