A young man in Madaripur named Sajib Hossain Saddam is growing dragon fruit on 12 acres of land. He started small, but as the profits were high he expanded step by step, setting up a second orchard after the first one paid off. Last year he sold dragon fruit worth Tk 32 lakh, and this year he says he expects to sell Tk 40 lakh worth. Ten people now work in his orchards.

A few other people in the district have also tried growing dragon fruit, but their efforts did not last. Only Sajib, on his own initiative, has made a success of it.

According to the agriculture department, the farmer and local sources, Sajib is the son of Siddiqur Rahman Howlader of Chornachna village in Chhoto Dudhkhali, Kalikapur union, Madaripur Sadar upazila. He is the youngest of five brothers and one sister, and studied law in Dhaka. He has travelled for pleasure to several countries including Thailand, Singapore, Nepal and India. Seeing dragon fruit orchards in Thailand, he set up his own orchard out of personal interest.

He began growing dragon fruit on 3 acres in 2019, planting 4,000 seedlings on 1,000 posts, and named the venture Hazi Agro and Dragon Garden. He collected about 5,000 seedlings of improved varieties from home and abroad. He sold his first fruit in 2020. The farm grew gradually and he now grows dragon fruit on 9 acres. Because the profits were good, this year he also started growing it on 3 acres in Miarchar village of Dudhkhali union in the same upazila. Besides land he has bought, he has leased land from people nearby.

On the ground, the 9-acre orchard in Chornachna village has 18,000 plants on 4,000 posts. In Miarchar he has planted 12,000 seedlings on 1,200 posts across 3 acres. His 10 workers are on the job every day. Floodwater damaged the dragon fruit in the first year, but success began the year after.

Alongside dragon fruit, Sajib has planted mango, lemon, sugarcane, coconut, banana, various vegetables and other fruit trees. He has also set up a cattle farm next to the orchard. At this year's Eid-ul-Azha he sold 26 cattle for Tk 52 lakh, and 10 cattle are still on the farm. His father, Siddiqur Rahman Howlader, also helps him.

The fruit began ripening a week ago. Every morning the dragon fruit is picked and carried by van to Mostafapur Bazar in Madaripur Sadar upazila, the largest fruit wholesale market in Madaripur, where it is sold wholesale. Early in the season it fetched Tk 150 to 200 a kg; the price later rose to Tk 300 to 350.

"When I started, a sudden flood did a lot of damage to the orchard. It took a great deal of effort to get back on my feet," Sajib said. "I began on 3 acres, then gradually expanded by buying and leasing land around it. Now I grow dragon fruit on 9 acres in one orchard and 3 acres in another. The profit is good, because a dragon fruit orchard costs very little. Whatever you spend, you spend at the start; after that there is hardly any cost. Four plants are grown on each post. Once an orchard is set up it can be used for up to 30 years, so the profit is high. Last year I sold Tk 32 lakh of dragon fruit. This time I hope to sell Tk 40 lakh."

Neighbour Jalil Fakir said: "Sajib Hossain Saddam is an educated man, yet he has become self-reliant by setting up a dragon fruit orchard here. That is very good. Many people get work with him. Besides dragon fruit he grows mango, coconut, banana and other fruit, and he has a cattle farm too. I hope many will follow his example."

Orchard worker Delwar Hossain said: "I have worked here for about four years. I get Tk 500 a day, and that keeps my family going. This orchard gave me a job. There is no other dragon fruit orchard this big in the district."

Rajan Mahmud, founding director of the local environmental group Friends of Nature, said: "Sajib's initiative is praiseworthy. Instead of looking for a job, he created employment himself and gave work to others. The orchard brings in money on one hand and helps keep the environment in balance on the other. Seeing its success, many young people will come forward, and that will reduce unemployment in the country."

Hemayet Sardar, sub-assistant agriculture officer at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Madaripur, said: "A young man named Sajib Hossain Saddam from Kalikapur in Madaripur Sadar upazila is growing dragon fruit on about 10 acres and is making a profit from it. A few others in the district have grown dragon fruit, but it did not last. We have always supported him."

Santosh Chandra Chanda, deputy director of the DAE in Madaripur, said: "Sajib has profited greatly from growing dragon fruit in Madaripur. We have always helped him and have also visited his orchard. In a short time he has become known in the district as a successful farmer. I hope many will come forward after seeing him."

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