Over 5,000 mango growers getting training in Rajshahi region
BSS, Rajshahi :
More than 5,000 farmers are getting training on different mango issues like farming, nursing and harvesting in different districts of the region during the current season.
PRAN has taken the initiative aimed at boosting yield of the delicious seasonal fruit here. Ziaul Haque, Media Manager of PRAN, said imparting training to around 1,500 farmers was completed.
Besides, Mahtab Uddin, Chief Operating Officer of Pran Agro Business Limited, said training on various mango issues like orchard management, use of pesticides and harvesting are arranged for the farmers every year.
At least 13 field supervisors were employed for the purpose and they remain in close contact with the farmers for mitigating their problems on urgent basis.
“We arrange training programmes for the mango farmers for every year. This year we have trained up about fifteen hundred mango farmers. In the training sessions, farmers learnt how to manage a mango orchard, control pest and post harvest handling issues, ” he said adding about 78 thousand farmers are working with PRAN on contract basis.
Around 50,000 mango seedlings were distributed among the PRAN contractual farmers in different districts of the region last year facilitating them to increase production of mango during the current year’s harvesting season.
It has also arranged yearlong training for them on fertilizer and insecticide, orchard management, pest control, post harvest handling and other related issues, Mahtab Uddin added.
PRAN collects mango, tomato, rice, bean, milk, olive, spice and others from the farmers at market price.
Iliash Hossain, Director of Agro Limited, said after getting the necessary privileges, farmers are becoming more interested towards mango farming. As a result, number of mango orchard was enhanced triggering the yield to some greater extent.
More than 6,000 people are working in the factory directly. Apart from this, in the mango season, 5,000 more people work in the factory to supplement the activities of factory workers, farmers and suppliers.
Ninety percent of the workers are women, thereby, living and livelihood condition of the local population has been improved significantly, he said.
Meanwhile, PRAN Agro Ltd, a leading fruit processing company, has set a target to buy 40,000 tonnes of mangos this season to produce mango juice and other mango products.
This year’s mango purchasing drive of the company began in May last at Ekdala in Natore and the drive continues till this July.
Chief Executive Major General (retd) Amzad Khan Chowdhury inaugurated the drive saying Pran is increasing quantity of mango procurement each year due to rising demand of its mango juice and drinks at home and abroad. Last year’s purchasing target was about 30,000 tonnes.
It’s the only company which has been purchasing mango from the farmers directly since 2001. “There are three pulping plants at PRAN factory in Natore where 5,000 local people are working.”
After processing, the procured mangoes are preserved at cold storage as ‘mango pulp’. Later, mango juice and other mango products are produced from the ‘mango pulp’ at the aseptic, caning and bottling plant at Pran factory in Ghorashal.
PRAN at its own cost arranges regular training workshop for mango farmers for keeping mango flowers in the trees and good cultivation.
With this breakthrough of mango procurement, temporary employment for thousands of people including women is being created each year.
More than 5,000 farmers are getting training on different mango issues like farming, nursing and harvesting in different districts of the region during the current season.
PRAN has taken the initiative aimed at boosting yield of the delicious seasonal fruit here. Ziaul Haque, Media Manager of PRAN, said imparting training to around 1,500 farmers was completed.
Besides, Mahtab Uddin, Chief Operating Officer of Pran Agro Business Limited, said training on various mango issues like orchard management, use of pesticides and harvesting are arranged for the farmers every year.
At least 13 field supervisors were employed for the purpose and they remain in close contact with the farmers for mitigating their problems on urgent basis.
“We arrange training programmes for the mango farmers for every year. This year we have trained up about fifteen hundred mango farmers. In the training sessions, farmers learnt how to manage a mango orchard, control pest and post harvest handling issues, ” he said adding about 78 thousand farmers are working with PRAN on contract basis.
Around 50,000 mango seedlings were distributed among the PRAN contractual farmers in different districts of the region last year facilitating them to increase production of mango during the current year’s harvesting season.
It has also arranged yearlong training for them on fertilizer and insecticide, orchard management, pest control, post harvest handling and other related issues, Mahtab Uddin added.
PRAN collects mango, tomato, rice, bean, milk, olive, spice and others from the farmers at market price.
Iliash Hossain, Director of Agro Limited, said after getting the necessary privileges, farmers are becoming more interested towards mango farming. As a result, number of mango orchard was enhanced triggering the yield to some greater extent.
More than 6,000 people are working in the factory directly. Apart from this, in the mango season, 5,000 more people work in the factory to supplement the activities of factory workers, farmers and suppliers.
Ninety percent of the workers are women, thereby, living and livelihood condition of the local population has been improved significantly, he said.
Meanwhile, PRAN Agro Ltd, a leading fruit processing company, has set a target to buy 40,000 tonnes of mangos this season to produce mango juice and other mango products.
This year’s mango purchasing drive of the company began in May last at Ekdala in Natore and the drive continues till this July.
Chief Executive Major General (retd) Amzad Khan Chowdhury inaugurated the drive saying Pran is increasing quantity of mango procurement each year due to rising demand of its mango juice and drinks at home and abroad. Last year’s purchasing target was about 30,000 tonnes.
It’s the only company which has been purchasing mango from the farmers directly since 2001. “There are three pulping plants at PRAN factory in Natore where 5,000 local people are working.”
After processing, the procured mangoes are preserved at cold storage as ‘mango pulp’. Later, mango juice and other mango products are produced from the ‘mango pulp’ at the aseptic, caning and bottling plant at Pran factory in Ghorashal.
PRAN at its own cost arranges regular training workshop for mango farmers for keeping mango flowers in the trees and good cultivation.
With this breakthrough of mango procurement, temporary employment for thousands of people including women is being created each year.