"My dream in life was to do something different. When I joined a private job after finishing my studies, I kept thinking I had to do something new that would inspire others." That is how Ashraf Hossain Swapan of Baliadanga village in Kaliganj upazila, Jhenaidah, described his dream.

Swapan said he planted dragon fruit seedlings on just three and a half bighas of land in 2014-15. Traders from Dhaka buy the fruit from him at the farm at Tk 350 to 400 a kg, and he aims to sell dragon fruit worth Tk 22 lakh this year.

A visit found that Swapan is planting 3,500 dragon fruit seedlings, at 1,000 per bigha, which he bought from Mymensingh at Tk 120 each. The plants began flowering and fruiting this year, with 25 to 30 fruits on each plant; three fruits make a kg. He uses no chemical fertiliser, only organic fertiliser. He sells seedlings at Tk 50 to 56 each. The fruit can be picked 45 days after flowering. He has spent Tk 8 to 10 lakh on the three-and-a-half-bigha orchard over the past two years.

Shah Md Akramul Haque, an official of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said dragon fruit is very low in calories, so it is good for people with diabetes and heart disease, and it is rich in vitamin C and iron. The soil in Kaliganj, Jhenaidah, is well suited to dragon fruit, and the agriculture office is giving the successful farmer all-round support. The fruit is mostly found in Central America. Since Swapan has succeeded, others may follow his example, and the district agriculture office stands beside everyone, he said.

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