Malta, a green sweet orange, is now grown commercially on the hills of Rangamati, and this year's yield is good. According to Krishi Shomoy's Rangamati correspondent, farmers have planted malta orchards on about 60 to 70 hectares in the district, producing 12 tonnes a hectare, and have earned more than Tk 40 million to Tk 50 million from sales.
The variety grown widely in Rangamati Sadar, Naniarchar, Kawkhali and Baghaichhari upazilas is BARI Malta-1, light green when unripe and dark green when ripe. Many growers in Shukurchhari village have done well, and interest is spreading among hill farmers.
These hills once produced only a few crops that earned farmers little; now high-value fruit is grown there. Growers say hill malta is sweet and juicy and in demand nationwide, and it now goes beyond Rangamati to Dhaka and Chattogram.
Grower Hem Kumar Chakma says the hill soil and climate suit the crop, so farmers succeeded this year; with low costs and high yields, profits are good.
Md Minruzzaman, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rangamati, says the agriculture department supports malta growers and is distributing seedlings to encourage more malta on hill land.
Photo: Javier martin / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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