Home ›› 16 Aug 2021 ›› Nation
Banana farming has become a boon for the farmers of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban hills. With its’ low production cost and high profit, farmers of the districts are being able to grow the fruit in abundance.
In the last fiscal year, 2020-21, thousands of farmers of these three districts produced 5,39,280 tonnes of bananas on 23,700 hectares of land, earning more than Tk 647 crore.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension office sources, Rangamati alone has produced 2,42,283 tonnes of bananas on 11,845 hectares of land in 2020-21 FY. In 2019-20 FY, the district produced 2,15,250 tonnes of the fruit on 11,775 hectares of land.
Whereas, farmers in Khagrachhari produced more than 85,000 tonnes of bananas on 3,573 hectares of land and in Bandarban, 2,12,000 tonnes of bananas from 8,260 hectares of land.
The hilly areas of these three districts have hill slopes that ensure that every tree gets abundant sunlight, increasing both the yield and quality of fruits. Due to their gentle slopes, proper drainage of rainwater is facilitated, thus keeping the feet of trees free from excess moisture, said the DAE sources of the three hill districts.
According to the DAE officials, the farmers grow most of the varieties of bananas — anaji, sagor, sabri, surzomukhi — on the hills all the year round. However, ‘Bangla’ and ‘Chapa’ remain the most favourite bananas among the growers and buyers due to their sweetness, price and nutritional value. They said the usual peak time for cultivating the highest amount of the fruit is August to October.
“We locally call the ‘bangla’ variety ‘kattoli’ or ‘pahari’ but ‘champa’ what is known as ‘chapa’ outside the Chattogram Hill Tracts areas. Bangla variety of banana is sold for double the price than chapa variety in the local markets, that’s why farmers are more interested in cultivating this variety of banana,” said farmer Kalorash Chakma of Naniarchar’s Samra village of Rangamati.
He said farmers sell 100 pieces of banana (locally called chhara) for around Tk100 to Tk 2000 based on their quality in the local markets. However, for large-sized bananas with better quality, they get Tk 5000 to Tk 6000 per chhara.
“Bananas grown between August to October have great demand for its size, quality and taste,” said farmer Sadhan Kumar Chakma at the Samataghat Market of Rangamati.
Locals said that traders crowd the markets of the hills this time of year to get the best quality bananas. They buy from the local farmers and take it to different districts including Dhaka, Chattogram and Cumilla for sale.
One such trader, Abdul Malek, who was found loading his purchased fruits on three mini-trucks at Rangamati’s truck terminal, told The Business Post that he comes to these local markets every week for buying bananas along with other traders.
“I, along with nine other traders, came to visit the local markets of the region to assess the prices of this week. We have got a good deal at Rangamati’s Harina Bazar and bought a large bulk of bananas at a low price,” said Nur Mohammad, a trader at the market. He said he comes to visit the market every week.
Another trader, Md Mosharrof, told The Business Post that the bananas produced in the hills have great demand across the country, as growers do not mix any chemicals to ripen and preserve the fruit.
Growers usually cultivate bananas on the hillside. As the hilly land is very fertile, farmers do not need to use any fertiliser to boost the production of the sweet fruit, which are excellent sources of vitamin B, soluble fibre, and contain moderate amounts of vitamin C, manganese and potassium.
However, the marginal farmers have said that they do not have a proper infrastructure to store and preserve
their harvested fruits, and therefore they have to sell them soon after harvesting.
Cashing in on this problem, the brokers and traders make a syndicate to lessen the wholesale price, buy these bananas at low prices from the farmers, and make windfall profit, alleged Subolong Chakma and other farmers at the Rangamati’s Harina Bazar.
Addressing the problem, Belayet Hossain Bhuiyan, former president of Rangamati Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that although fruit farming has become the main impetus for Rangamati’s economy, the district needs a substantial infrastructural development to support its’ farmers.
Krishna Prasad Mollik, deputy director of Rangamati DAE said the demand for the formalin-free fresh bananas of the hills is gradually increasing among people around the country.
“The bananas are sweet in taste and full of nutritional value, therefore prices are high,” he said.
“We are planning to provide training, cash assistance to encourage fruit farming in the region. If the infrastructure is developed, the marginal farmer can benefit from it,” he added.
