The Crime Desk: Local farmers are seeing success in commercial papaya cultivation in Kaliganj of Gazipur. As papaya is used as a raw vegetable and ripe fruit, the demand for it has increased several times day by day in local markets and around Dhaka. So many farmers are now interested in papaya cultivation. Wholesalers are now buying papaya from the orchards. Due to which there is no problem of taking the farmers to the market. Rather, the cost of transportation has decreased while the amount of profit has increased.
The farmer of Birtul village of Nagri Union of the upazila. Masud Sarkar. Last year he benefited by cultivating papaya on 1 bigha land with the help and advice of the Agriculture Office. After last year’s success, this year he cultivated papaya on 3 bigha of land, hoping for more profit. Apart from the good yield, the price is also good.
Masud Sarkar saw young men of the same village, Roni Sarkar and Samrat Sarkar, succeeding in papaya farming, and they are also benefiting financially. As papaya is used as a raw vegetable and ripe fruit, there is a great demand for this vegetable and fruit in local markets and around Dhaka.
According to the information of the local agriculture office, papaya has been cultivated on about 50 hectares of land in Kaliganj upazila. Upazila’s Nagori union has grown the most papaya. Farmers are selling their produce to wholesalers and local people in the market.
Deputy Assistant Agricultural Officer of Ulukhola Block of the Upazila. Monir Uddin Molla said, with the cooperation and advice of the Agriculture Office, financial prosperity has returned to the families of the farmers of Birtul village in papaya cultivation.
Kaliganj upazila agriculture officer, agriculturist Farzana Taslim, said papaya cultivation cost is low; there is no risk of damage due to diseases and storms. Many are financially well off by growing papaya commercially.
He also said that if there is no natural disaster, fortune can be changed by cultivating nutritious papaya. It is possible to solve the country’s unemployment problem if the government gets financial support in papaya cultivation. Educated, unemployed youth will also benefit if they take up farming.
