A farmer with big dreams is hoping for success by growing desert dates commercially in the hill district of Khagrachhari. He claims the size and taste of the dates grown in the hills will even surpass dates from the desert.

In the last week of December 2019, Md Nurul Alam began growing dates on a large hillock deep in the forest at Rasulpur village, about 4 kilometres from Matiranga Sadar in Khagrachhari.

He had his first success in 2022, three years after starting commercial cultivation, and tasted desert dates grown on home soil. He sold dates worth a lakh taka in the first year, strengthening the foundation of his dream. This year he hopes to sell more than Tk 2 lakh worth of dates.

At his orchard in Rasulpur, dates were seen hanging in bunches, yellow-green and reddish, with bagged bunches a treat to the eye. Locals have been crowding the orchard on hearing that desert dates are being grown commercially in the country.

Md Nurul Alam, who worked in the IT sector in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh for many years, lives in Shyamoli, Dhaka. He fell in love with nature on a visit to the hills through relatives.

Asked how someone from IT came into farming, he said: "I became interested in working in agriculture after being inspired by various farming videos. From that interest, around 2019 I bought 13 acres of hill land in the green hills, and then started building a farm."

His three-year-old farm now employs 10 workers on average. To meet the orchard's water needs he has installed a 6,500-watt solar system, which is solving the water problem.

"I want to reduce dependence on imported dates and meet the country's demand," he said. "Growing import-dependent fruit will save the country money. Growing fruit that can be stored for a month or more after harvest reduces the risk of financial loss."

Around 2019, Md Nurul Alam collected 100 tissue-culture seedlings from Saudi Arabia and England and began commercial cultivation on abandoned hill land. In 2022, 24 trees bore fruit for the first time, and all the trees should be fruiting between 2024 and 2025.

He grows the Barohi, Ajwa, Mitjol and Ambar varieties. About half the trees have started fruiting, and the rest should start within the next one and a half to two years. He expects to sell about Tk 2 lakh worth of dates this year, and more in future if yields are good.

Matiranga Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Sabuj Ali said: "The soil and climate of the hills suit Saudi date cultivation. Md Nurul Alam has grown Saudi dates. We are visiting the orchard and giving all kinds of advice. Looking at the orchard, date farming here seems likely to be profitable. We advise new growers to consult the agriculture department and learn the technology before starting."

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