Lemon farming becomes profitable in Rangpur region
The highly prospective and profitable lemon farming has been expanding fast every year bringing self-reliance to the common people including farmers in recent years in Rangpur region.
Following continuous expansion of lemon cultivation, over 2,400 farmers and common people have so far achieved economic self-reliance changing their fortune through selling lemon that has tremendous demand in the local markets with lucrative price.
The farmers are showing their growing interests in farming lemon in the orchards, by the side of their crop fields as live fences, homesteads, char areas and other places as the prospective venture has already got stronger footage in the region.
Sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and different NGOs, cultivation of lemon has been expanding fast following its repeated bumper production and lucrative market price throughout the year.
Currently, every four pieces of lemon is now being sold at rates between Taka 18 and Taka 28 on an average in the local markets during the holy, month of Ramadan depending on the variety, quality and size, market sources said.
According to Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khandker Md Mesbahul Islam, the common people have been farming lemon in homesteads and farmers have set up lemon orchards as live fences around their crop fields to earn huge profits.
The DAE has been providing necessary assistances to the farmers and common people for expanding lemon cultivation in orchards and homesteads to change their fate side by side meeting nutritional demand of the population.
Successful farmer Motiar Rahman of village Deodoba in Rangpur said he has planted over 3,100 lemon trees as live fences around his 1.5 acre litchi orchards to earn over Taka nine lakh by selling lemon alone annually without using separate land for the purpose.
Small and medium scale farmers Shefali, Surya Begum of village Chuhor and Shahadat, Rahim, Sohagi and Nabiron of other villages here said they are cultivating lemon as live fences and also in homesteads to earn excellent profits every year.
By this time, Quasem Ali of village Patrokhata Khondkerpara in Chilmari upazila has achieved a unique success by earning over Taka eight lakh annually through selling his cultivated lemon alone in 12 decimals land out of 48 decimal homestead croplands.
This season, Quasem Ali is expecting to sell at least 2.20 lakh pieces of lemon after distributing his produce among his relatives, neighbours and villagers to earn a net profit of over Taka nine lakh on an average as in the previous years.
Quasem said he mostly cultivates local, China and Duck Zamir variety lemons and added that consumption of the Duck Zamir variety lemon is beneficial to the jaundice and cough patients and it also increases milk for the baby-feeding mothers.
Similarly, farmers Sihab Ali and Nabinur of Panchagarh, Lokman Hossain and Ayub Ali of Rangpur, Ariful and Joynul of Lalmonirhat, Abdus Salam and Aminur Rahman of Kurigram have achieved their economic self-reliance through lemon cultivation.
Talking to BSS, Rangpur Regional Director of Agriculture Information Service Abu Sayem said lemon cultivation has already become popular bringing self-reliance to hundreds of farmers, commoners including women in the region.