Bangi fruit cultivation popular in Narsingdi

Cultivation of Bangi fruit (one kind of melon) is gaining ground in the district due to its good market price and less risk in production.  Successful yield of the juicy fruit brings substantial amount of money to the farmers. Bangi is a nutritious fruit. It is generally cultivated in char lands where scope of others crop cultivation is limited.

Hundreds of farmers in the char areas of Sadar, Raipura and Belabo upazilas have involved themselves in Bangi cultivation in the vast areas of infertile char lands of Meghna and Arial Kha rivers for long years and they are becoming self-reliant, reports BSS.

The farmers of the char villages are used to cultivate Bangi on commercial basis. With minimum financial involvement the farmers can harvest thousands of Bangi fruit worth about Taka one lakh from one acore of land. Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Latafat Hossain said over 1,000 acores of land have been brought under the Bangi cultivation in the three char upazilas of the district.

He said many poor farmers have changed their lot by growing Bangi. This correspondent visited different char areas of Sadar and Raipura upazilas recently and saw farmers are working their Bangi fields.  Some of them are busy plunking the fruit with much enthusiasm.

Farmer Abdul Ali of Alokbali char said Taka five to six hundred is needed to cultivate Bangi on one bigha of land.  This year he cultivated four bighas barran lands beside the Meghna river which cost him Taka only 2,500. He hoped that he might be plunked 4,000 to 5,000 pieces of Bangi worth about Taka one lakh to 1,20,000 from his land.

-AA Countrywide Desk