The fertile land of Joypurhat is suited to strawberries, which is making the crop easier to grow. Farmers have begun to reap the benefits, and because the fruit is good in quality and taste, demand is strong.

Mamunur Rashid, a farmer in Joypurhat Sadar, has grown strawberries for several years and has seen success. Last year he made a profit of a lakh taka from selling seedlings alone. He is selling seedlings again this year, aiming for a profit of at least Tk 1.5 lakh. Once these are sold he will raise seedlings again on the same land and then use them to grow strawberries on three bighas. Having made around a lakh taka last year, he now dreams of earning several lakh.

Babu Islam of Charghat in Rajshahi is also counting on strawberries. "Last year I grew strawberries on half a bigha. I spent Tk 60,000 and made a profit of Tk 1.5 lakh. This time I want to plant strawberries on more land," he said. Seedlings are being raised now, and strawberry cultivation will begin around November, he said. Abdul Latif, a farmer from the same area, said the same. They say strawberry farming has now spread across the whole area.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) is working to make strawberry farming more popular. Up to last year it had developed three high-yielding strawberry varieties and improved cultivation techniques, and the varieties are being grown successfully in different regions. Staff of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and the research institute are also training farmers in the field.

A recent study by the agricultural economics division and BARI found that each strawberry plant bears 40 fruits and a bigha yields about 2,778 kg. Production costs about Tk 42 a kg, and the fruit can be sold for Tk 100. On that basis, growing strawberries on a bigha at a cost of one lakh taka could bring a profit of at least Tk 3 lakh. On these grounds, BARI says strawberry farming is highly profitable.

The strawberry is a juicy, nutritious fruit, valued around the world for its colour, aroma and taste. It is suited to the rabi season. In the country's climate, the month of Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October) is the right time to plant, though seedlings can be planted up to November and December. Plants begin to flower in mid-December, and fruit can be harvested from late December.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.