Home ›› 17 Jun 2023 ›› Front
The eyes of five-and-a-half-year-old Omar Faruq dazzled with joy and wonder as he discovered countless colourful trees while roaming around the premises of National Tree Fair at Agargaon in Dhaka.
The preschooler and his younger sister Jannat, accompanied by their parents, came to the fair to buy some trees so that Omar could learn to propagate with cuttings.
“My husband Junayed is a tree lover and Omar was inspired to take cuttings after seeing his father doing so,” said Jhumur, Omar’s mother.
An excited Omar said he bought two trees and is searching for two more to take cuttings.
Hundreds of visitors ranging from toddlers to adults have been visiting the fair venue in recent days looking for trees and necessary equipment. The crowd has also been getting bigger in front of stalls displaying modern technologies and solutions related to agriculture, tree planting, etc.
The fair, launched on June 5, will run till May 12 with a four-day break during Eid-ul-Azha.
However, sellers at the fair fear that despite the visitor turnout in recent days, they might fail to meet their sales target this year. They do not expect a loss but it will be a challenge to break last year’s record, when over 16 lakh seedlings worth Tk12 crore were sold.
Weekend draws large crowd
According to stall owners, a good number of visitors come to the fair from Thursday afternoon to Saturday night.
The number of visitors falls slightly on the weekdays, according to organisers.
According to the fair management office, in more than 120 stalls, some 99 government institutes and traders are showcasing over 1500 species of different kinds of trees.
One visitor, University student Zakir Hussain, who lives in Uttara, said, “I was supposed to buy three to four trees only. But I ended up buying a packet of soil and some irrigation tools as well.”
The fair has some good attractions this year as usual. Apart from thousands of plants to explore and buy, visitors can also get a peek at endangered plant species, get insights of new technology on irrigation, bird nests, and technical gardening solutions, etc.
Nasir Uddin from Madaripur, who has a garden, said, “There is a technology I saw in the stall that would irrigate the plants automatically even when I am out of my home. That’s worth coming to the fair.”
Lower sales feared but no loss
Despite the recent surge in visitor turnouts, sellers at the fair said they are expecting lower sales this time compared to last year.
They also said the number of visitors is yet to match that of last year. However, the crowd is expected to get bigger in the weekend.
The extreme heat in the first few days deterred many from coming to the fair. But as the weather cooled a bit after the rain, the crowd has continued to grow, said one stall owner.
Sellers said as the capital lacks large space for tree plantation, there is generally less demand for large forest or fruit trees in Dhaka.
Md Sohanur Rahman, associate officer of Brac Nursery Enterprise said they are showcasing over 700 species of trees this year. Among them, trees suitable for rooftop gardens and balconies are selling the most.
“As the number of visitors is less in comparison to last year, we are suspecting that sales would also be lesser this year.”
Meanwhile, Proprietor of Jannat Nursery Khandaker Shariful Alam said his nursery has brought about 115 species of fruits, 72 species of herbs, 42 species of forestry tree and about 350 species of ornamental trees.
Asked if they fear loss this year, he said although there is Eid festival in almost the middle of the fair, they are hoping that they won’t incur any loss.
The month-long tree fair is taking place in two phases as the country is about to celebrate Eid ul Adha at the end of this month.
In the first phase the fair will be continued till June 5 to June 26. The fair will resume on July 1 and will continue till July 12. The fair is open for all and remains open from 9am to 8pm.
8.2m seedlings sold since 2015
The sales of plant seedlings at the fair are rising every year. However, after recording the highest sales last year the National Tree Fair authorities are doubtful about that record being broken this year.
According to the fair authorities, some 80,26,295 seedlings were sold from 2015 to 2022. The sales generated some Tk45,94,71,796 in the time. The fair was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
In the first six days of the fair this year, some 1,86,616 seedlings have been sold that generated some Tk 1,75,00,520.
