Strawberries are now widely grown in Bangladesh too. With good demand, yields and prices, farmers are becoming interested in the fruit. In Sreepur, Gazipur, local farmers are dreaming of success with strawberries. Their farms have caused a stir in the area, and after meeting local demand the fruit is going to the capital and other districts.

The Sreepur upazila agriculture office said strawberries are being grown this year in Sreepur municipality and Barmi, Gazipur, Gosinga and Telihati unions, with somewhat more in the Keowa, Barma, Gararan, Mawna and Pelaid Godarchala areas. The crop needs little capital and labour but brings much higher profits, and farmers are seeing success in a short time.

Farmer Saiful Islam of Barma village said strawberry cultivation starts early in the Bengali month of Bhadra. The soil is loosened with five or six ploughings by power tiller or tractor, and the land is then prepared with fertiliser, cow dung and other calcium inputs. A bigha of strawberries costs Tk 80,000-90,000 to grow, and after all costs the profit is Tk 4-5 lakh.

Ashraful, a farmer of the same village, said white strawberry flowers bloom at the start of the season, followed by yellow fruit that finally turns bright red. A single plant of the Winterdon variety yields at least 2 kg of fruit in a season.

Farmer Azizul Islam said: "Seeing Saiful bhai's garden, I am thinking of starting a strawberry garden too. Irrigation is the biggest cost; I have irrigated 25-30 times so far. People from different areas crowd to see the strawberry gardens every day and pick strawberries from the plants to eat. Many are now thinking of growing them."

Tofayel Ahmed of Godarchala village, who has succeeded with strawberries, said: "I have fulfilled my dream by growing strawberries. It is a popular fruit worldwide and looks somewhat like a lychee. Many farmers grew strawberries on rooftops, but now they have started growing them commercially."

"I buy mother plants from a tissue culture lab and produce seedlings. I plant them in my own land and sell seedlings to others. I buy mother plants at Tk 40 each, and after meeting my own needs I sell the seedlings at Tk 15-20. I have planted 450 strawberry plants on one and a half bighas. I pick 15-20 kg of strawberries a day and sell them at Tk 500-700 a kg. So far I have sold Tk 1.5 lakh worth," he said.

Sreepur upazila agriculture officer Sumaiya Sultana Bonna said: "Strawberry is a high-value, nutritious and juicy fruit. Seedlings can usually be planted until November-December. Plants begin flowering in mid-December, and fruit can be harvested from late December to April. Because it brings high profits on a small investment, farmers are very interested."

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