Countless yellow oranges hang in clusters on every tree, peeping out between the green leaves, a sight that delights the eye. Such scenes are common in the orange orchards of Europe or Kashmir, and it may only be a matter of time before they are common in Bangladesh. Khalilur Rahman Mal of Shariatpur has caused a stir with a remarkable orange orchard. Because the China-variety oranges from his garden taste sweet, they have drawn a wide response among locals.

Khalilur Rahman Mal lives in the Malkandi area of South Tarabunia union in Bhedarganj upazila. His eldest son, Samsur Rahman Khokon, went to Saudi Arabia 10 years ago. There he one day watched a video about orange farming on YouTube and wanted to plant an orange orchard at the family home. When he told his father, Khalilur Rahman Mal did not object.

Early in 2020, Khalilur Rahman brought 150 China-variety orange trees from Chuadanga and planted them on 40 decimals of land in front of his house, at a cost of about Tk 3 lakh. The trees did not bear well in the first year, but after he cared for the orchard under the supervision and advice of the agriculture department, it has produced remarkable yields for the past two years. Last season the orchard produced about 30 maunds of oranges; besides sending some to relatives, he sold about Tk 1 lakh worth. This year Khalilur Rahman hopes to produce 35 maunds.

In the orchard stand 150 orange trees about 10 feet tall, planted in rows about 5 feet apart on the 40 decimals. Countless oranges hang in clusters from every branch. Some have ripened and turned yellow; others are still unripe and green. The owner, Khalilur Rahman Mal, was seen tending them.

Khalilur Rahman Mal told Jago News: "After my son watched orange farming on YouTube, he asked me to plant an orchard too. I brought 150 saplings from Chuadanga and planted them, and cared for them as the agriculture officer advised. For the past two years the yield has been good. We eat some and sell some. Seeing me, many others have decided to grow oranges."

Local resident Abul Badsha Chowdhury said: "My neighbour Khalil Mal is growing oranges in his orchard. The fruit looks good and tastes sweet. I have some empty land next to my house, and I plan to grow oranges there in future."

Rajib Hossain said: "I have been watching since they started the orchard in 2020. At first they faced many obstacles, and many people laughed at them. Now they are successful. Anyone who wants to grow these oranges can do so. It is a promising sector."

Local sub-assistant agriculture officer Mohammad Moniruzzaman told Jago News: "Because the soil in this area is very sandy, the trees were not growing. After seeing this I gave various advice. Once the sand was removed from around the trees and organic fertiliser, balanced fertiliser and irrigation were provided, the trees began yielding well two years ago. Other farmers in the area are now being encouraged to grow oranges."

Upazila agriculture officer Fatema Islam told Jago News: "Our agriculture department has been advising Khalilur Rahman on orange farming from the start. As the department has no demonstration plot for oranges, we could not help him financially. Agriculture officers are in the field, and if anyone runs into problems growing oranges, we will stand by them with technical support."

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