Mango gardens hold high hopes for Modgupur people

Mango trees at the garden of Leena Delbat at Jainagacha village in Modhupur. PHOTO: STAR

Vast fallow lands are now dotted with small Amropoli trees, a high yielding variety which bears mango a year after plantation. Many garden owners earned good profit this year.

At least 25 gardens of varying sizes have been raised in the area since 2002, thanks to the efforts by the World Vision and local horticulture officials. The number of trees in a garden vary from 80 to 250.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The response from the local people is very good as they have started earning profit from lands left fallow earlier, the officials told this correspondent during a recent visit to some of the gardens. Grafts of Amropoli plants are planted and these bear fruit next year. The mango is very sweet and has attractive colour and flavour. Its size is like that of langra, a well known delicious mango grown in Rajshahi, but the taste is better than that.

The World Vision buys graft plants from BRAC, an NGO, at Tk 50.00 per piece and distributes those among local people free of cost. It also gives fertiliser, pesticides and technical support to the farmers.

World Vision Agriculture Officer Mizanur Rahman said they visit every garden three times in a week and advise the farmers.

Fourteen gardens out of the 25 yielded reasonably good quantities of mango this season, he said.

Romesh Mrong, at Jalchatra village said there are 150 Amrapali trees in his garden. He planted the trees in 2002 and those started bearing mango last year. The trees are small and so he can take utmost care.

Mizanur Rahman said each tree produces enough mangoes. A farmer can easily earn around Tk three lakh a year from 200 trees, he said.

"We are also supporting them in marketing", he said.

Leena Delbat, has a small garden with about 80 plants at Toynagacha village. Most of the plants, planted in 2002, started bearing fruit last year but the quantity was less. This year, she earned around Tk 60,000 so far by selling about 20,000 mangoes, she said. There are mangoes still in the garden.

Anwar Ali of Dukola village raised his garden in April 2003. The trees started bearing fruits this year, but the size is smaller. He hopes to earn a good profit from his 225 plants next year.

Mizanur Rahman said the soil of Modhupur upazila is suitable for growing Amrapali mango. "We selected this area for cultivating this variety of mango after soil test and other experiments", he said.

Anwar Ali is so grateful to World Vision. "Mizanur Rahman comes to my garden two or three time a week and also supplies me fertiliser and pesticide", he said.

Ashit Boll, co-ordinator of World Vision in Modhupur, said they will continue the support for expansion of mango gardening in the area.

Mango gardens will change the lot of the people here because this is very profitable, he said.