Strawberries have yielded heavily on the chars that have risen along the Shitalakshya, the river that flows through Sreepur and Kapasia upazilas of Gazipur. Although strawberries are known as a fruit of cold countries, thanks to marginal farmers they have become widely known in Bangladesh too. With good demand, yields and prices, strawberry farming is growing steadily more popular among Gazipur's farmers.

According to people in agriculture, strawberries are attractive in smell, colour and taste, and their fragrance is widely used in juice, jam, ice cream, milkshakes and other processed foods. Strawberries were first cultivated in France in 1740 and later spread to Chile, Argentina and other countries. Although it is a fruit of cold countries, various varieties are now grown in the colder parts of Bangladesh. Many people grow strawberries as a hobby in pots at home or on rooftops, but now a few farmers in Kapasia, Gazipur, have begun growing them commercially.

Kuriadi is a village in Singhashree union of Kapasia, on the bank of the Shitalakshya in Gazipur. A handful of farmers here grow winter crops on the chars that rise along the river, but the land lies fallow for the rest of the year. To bring variety to their farming, several farmers in the village began growing strawberries this season on the advice of Delwar Hossain, owner of Moumita Flowers in neighbouring Sreepur upazila. One of them is Tofayel Ahmed Biddut.

Tofayel Ahmed Biddut said the land goes under water in the rainy season and, when the river recedes, silt settles and makes the land very fertile, so almost any crop grown there succeeds. He bought 1,000 strawberry seedlings from Delwar's Moumita Flowers at Tk 30 each. After a few months of care the plants are now fruiting. He has sold strawberries at Tk 700–800 a kg and has so far sold Tk 1.5 lakh worth.

Alongside him, Abdur Razzak Pradhan Kazi of the same area has grown strawberries on the char, planting 7,000 seedlings. A young man named Humayun Kabir Japani has planted 13,000.

Humayun Kabir Japani, a strawberry grower from Kuriadi village in Kapasia, said: "Many people waste money in many ways. Last season my papaya orchard was destroyed by a hailstorm and I suffered heavy losses. So this time a few of us took a risk with strawberries. We have had a good yield on the fallow char by the river. Now, following our example, many people are interested in growing strawberries next season. Because it is profitable, we hope strawberry farming on the riverbank could take off dramatically in future."

Mahbub Alam, deputy director of the Gazipur district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said strawberries are highly nutritious and help both to boost immunity and to recover from illness. Strawberries are grown here and there in Gazipur, but the department has not been able to measure the area. Many people grow them at home as a hobby, but now they are being grown commercially on the chars along the Shitalakshya in Kapasia. Because it is profitable, he said, it will contribute to the rural economy.

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