Farmers see success in cashew nuts-coffee cultivation

Business Report :
Badsha Tripura, a school teacher of Khagrachari. Along with his professional works, Badsha is also a keen interested person in agricultural activities. He always also keeps an eye on if there is any new crop.
Earlier, he made profits by fish farming on his two acres of ponds. Whenever he could know about cultivation of cashew and coffee from Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), he started working on it and planted coffee seedlings on eight acres of land. This year, the coffee plants started flowering and hopes to get a good yield from the field.
While talking to this correspondent recently, Badsha told, “There were mango and banana plantations on the lands where I have now planted coffee plants. With regular nurturing with the help of DAE officials, I am expecting a good yield in the coffee plantation as well.”
“Even though I planted only 400 to 500 coffee plants in the beginning, now number of coffee plants in my garden is around 3,200. Early plantings have flowered. I hope that those could be sold in the market this year,” added Badsha Tripura.
Coffee, one of the world’s most popular beverages, is cultivated in the hilly districts of Khagrachari and Bandarban and in the surrounding areas, including the plain-lands of Rangpur district. The government is also encouraging the farmers to start cultivating cashew and coffee to increase its local production.
Meanwhile, Mainul Islam, a cashew nut and coffee farmer of Bara Alampur union of Pirganj upazila of Rangpur, said, “I have planted coffee and cashew nuts on 100 decimals of land, two plots of 50 decimals. As these lands are high, I used to cultivate sugarcane there. but, now growing coffee and cashews.”
“My coffee and cashew fields are looking well and plants started giving flowers. I don’t know about the yield of the crops, but I have also cultivated black gram (maskalai) and Jujube (Ber), well known as Kul Barai, along with those plants in the gardens. Hope to get profits from the crops,” he said.
Not only Badsha Tripura, Mainul Islam, but many farmers have the dream to change their fortune by cultivating this coffee and cashew.
According to the coffee and cashew farmers, if the crops are cultivated properly, good yield and profit can be achieved. They hope that this coffee will be exported abroad, once the local needs are met.
Obaidur Rahman Mandal, Deputy Director of Directorate of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of Rangpur, said, “We have provided seedlings, training and various assistances to farmers in coffee and cashew nut cultivation in two upazilas of Rangpur district. If it’s possible to successfully complete this initiative, we hope that farmers of this region will be able to develop themselves financially by cultivating coffee and cashew nuts.”
SM Shah Newaz, Deputy Director of DAE Rangpur, said, “The coffee and cashew nuts were being cultivated in the region in a limited scale. But, the farmers were not able to nurture those crops duly due to lack of experience and trainings. After getting training from the DAE officials, the farmers are now doing well. Getting good products, the farmers are now doing much profit.”
According to the Agriculture Ministry sources, production of cashew nuts in the country was 972 metric tons in 2019, 1,382 tonnes in 2020, 1,562 tonnes in 2021 and 1,842 tonnes in 2022.
Meanwhile, coffee production was 55.72 metric tons in 2020, 58 tonnes in 2021 and 62 tons in 2022.
Cashew nuts have been imported, 330 metric tons in 2018, 510 tonnes in 2019, 1,624.77 tonnes in 2020, 2,030.56 tonnes in 2021 and 431.78 metric tons in 2022 while coffee import in 2018 was 855 metric tons.
To increase local production of coffee and cashew nut, the Agriculture Ministry has been implementing a project titled, ‘Research Development and Extension of Cashew Nut and Coffee Project’ under the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
According to the project sources, since the beginning, around 1,049 farmers were given training under various batches across the country under the project. To encourage the famers, the authority has already arranged 3,102 exhibitions for cashew nut varieties and technology and 2,744 exhibitions for coffee varieties and technology.
Apart from this, 222 commercial exhibitions of cashew nut demonstrations and 164 exhibitions of coffee cultivation have already been completed. It’s hoped that target of the project will be met by June this year.
Shahidul Islam, Project Director (PD) of Cashew Nut and Coffee Research Development and Extension Project, said, “The market of the two products is also growing in our country. Following the directives of the Agriculture Minister, the project activities are ongoing aiming at exploiting huge potential of cashew nuts and coffee in the hilly areas of the country along with tea production.”
He said, “Under the project, some 12 lakhs of cashew nuts and coffee seedlings and other materials have already been distributed among the farmers. Another 10 lakh saplings will be distributed in the current season. All kinds of assistances are being provided from the project to establish cashew and coffee gardens. New entrepreneurs are being created under the project.”
“It is widely cultivated in hilly areas than plainlands. Due to high price and demand, the farmers are showing great interests in cultivating these two crops in hilly areas. All kinds of assistance are being provided from the government to increase its production,” he claimed.