Published: 10:41 AM, 01 July 2026
Summer watermelon farming in Narsingdi for the first time
'Summer watermelon' farming has been added to the agriculture of Narsingdi district for the first time, which is a new and promising crop.
Due to the short time of harvest and low production cost as well as high-yielding hybrid varieties, the farmers of the district are increasing their interest in summer watermelon cultivation.
According to the information of the District Agricultural Extension Department, summer vegetables are being cultivated on 7,700 hectares of land in Narsingdi district. Among them, various vegetables including barbati, jhinge, chichinga, karla, latikchu, mistikumra are cultivated, but for the first time, summer watermelon has been cultivated in this district with the support of the Agriculture Office and the funding of the Dhaka Region Agricultural Development Project.
During a ground visit, it was seen that Iran Mia, a returnee from Akhalia village in Amdia union of Narsingdi Sadar upazila, has cultivated hybrid summer watermelons called "Smart Boy" using mulching method on 20 percent of land. The harvest came in his field within 60-65 days of planting the seedlings. Iran Mia received cash for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and materials from the Upazila Agriculture Office through the Dhaka Region Agricultural Development Project.
He said, "I came from Saudi Arabia 3 years ago and started commercial agricultural work in the village. I have been producing high-yielding crops such as tomatoes, peppers, brinjals, and eggplants. But this is the first time I have cultivated summer watermelons on the advice of the Agriculture Office."
"I have sold them wholesale in the market for Tk 60-70 per kg. I have sold watermelons worth Tk. 80,000 from 20 decimals of land. Farmer Iran Mia said that after deducting all my expenses, I have earned about Tk 60,000'", he said.
"Next time I intend to cultivate this summer watermelon on a large scale", he added.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Sekhar Chandra Banik said, "Such exhibition activities will continue to increase the income of farmers and make agriculture more profitable by expanding climate-tolerant and high-yielding crops. The successful implementation of the project has increased interest in modern technology-based summer watermelon cultivation among farmers and expressed hope that it will play an important role in expanding the cultivation of this crop on a larger scale in the future.
Project Director Dr. Md. Abdul Kaiyum said, "A summer watermelon exhibition has been set up in Narsingdi district under the Dhaka Region Agricultural Development Project to increase agricultural production and increase the income of farmers. Farmers are achieving expected yields and benefiting financially as a result of using improved varieties and modern farming technologies in the exhibitions."
>>Nurey Alam, AA
