Bangladesh: Strawberry farming gains momentum
Prof AKM Rafiul Islam, president of Bangladesh Strawberry Association, said Strawberry cultivation is as easy as growing potatoes or eggplants, and saplings can be planted in rows between November and December every year.
Now, a large number of people, mostly unemployed youths, have become dependent on strawberry farming, he added. The youths are supplying strawberries to different markets across the country as the soft juicy fruits have become popular in preparing ice-cream, jam, jelly, pickles, chocolates and biscuits.
Prof Manzur Hossain, who pioneered strawberry research in the country, said Bangladeshi variety of strawberry has been adjudged as the world's best one.
"We have innovated three varieties of strawberry through tissue culture method and all the three were found to be suitable for our soil and climate," said Dr Hossain, a professor of the Department of Botany, Rajshahi University.
The new varieties can be harvested within two and a half months of its plantation and a farmer can earn around Tk 150,000 by farming it on one bigha of land with an expenditure of only Tk 30,000, he added.
And each kilogramme of the fruit can earn Tk 700 on an average.
The country can earn huge foreign currencies by exporting strawberry if its commercial farming starts at national level and farmers are motivated for strawberry cultivation, hoped Dr Manjur.
Source: thedailystar.net
