Sammam, a fruit of the desert, is now being grown in the Garo hills along Sherpur's border. Anwar Hossain has succeeded in growing it for the first time in the Gomra area of Jhenaigati upazila. Because the fruit is tasty and nutritious, he has made a large profit on a small outlay, and many people around him are now keen to follow. The agriculture department has promised every kind of support to anyone interested in growing foreign fruit, to reduce dependence on imports.

Agricultural entrepreneur Md Anwar Hossain left a job with a private company about two years ago and began growing vegetables at home. "I was looking to do something new on my father's land alongside vegetables. I learned about sammam on YouTube. I collected seed from the capital and began a trial of two varieties on 10 decimals of land. The plants started flowering within just one month, and fruit set within a month and a half of pollination," he said.

"The fruit began to ripen in the last week of April. Within only three months it was ready to eat and to sell at market. The yield was good too. I spent only Tk 25,000 growing it, and in three months on 10 decimals I made four times my costs. The sammam I produced sold for Tk 1 lakh at the local market. One of my varieties is green outside and yellow inside; the other is yellow outside and red inside," Anwar Hossain said.

According to the agriculture department, sammam is essentially a fruit of desert regions. Although it is known as sammam in Bangladesh, many also call it rockmelon or honeydew melon. It is not widely grown in the country, but many farmers are now becoming interested in this foreign fruit. The sweet, tasty fruit has been grown in various parts of the country, but this is the first success in the Garo hills. The department says the fruit begins to ripen within two months of planting, and each mature fruit weighs about 2 kg. Because it is tasty and nutritious, the fruit is being sold straight from the farm, and locals are becoming interested in growing it.

Anwar's father, Mozammel Haque, said: "When my son told me he wanted to grow this fruit, at first I told him not to. Anwar grew it anyway. After two months I saw lots of flowers and fruit on the plants. In future we will grow it on more land."

Local farmer Hasmat Ali said: "I hear it is an expensive fruit. It is very sweet and juicy, tasty and highly nutritious. Anwar grew it as a trial and it is bearing a lot of fruit. I will grow it too in future."

Upazila agriculture officer Md Humayun Dildar, an agriculturist, said: "Anwar has succeeded with his trial of sammam. We are giving every kind of help to keep the garden safe. Many people around are being encouraged to grow sammam. There is no fear of loss in growing it. The agriculture department will give full support to anyone who is interested."

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