Guava farming turns into boon to Rajshahi growers

A good number of farmers in the northwest division of Rajshahi have shifted to guava farming as the fruit brings good returns.

The growers are earning a handsome profit of approximately Tk 400 crore from guava farming every year, said Sirajul Islam, additional director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Rajshahi.

The water-stressed Barind region along with Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Naogaon, and Natore districts is perfect for growing guava, which requires a tenth of the water compared with traditional crops, such as paddy, wheat, etc.

Therefore, in recent years, farmers of the region found a good alternative in guava, and they are expanding their orchards attracted by good prices.

According to the DAE sources, 4,893 hectares of cropland under the four districts have been brought under guava cultivation, and they have fixed a target of producing 91,072 tonnes of guava this year.

Of this, the DAE has fixed a target of producing 73,314 tonnes of guava from 3,052 hectares of land in Rajshahi district, 3,635 tonnes from 454 hectares in Naogaon, 7,643 tonnes from 452 hectares in Natore, and 6,480 tonnes from 935 hectares in Chapainawabganj.

It said the average price of guava is between Tk 40 and Tk 100 per kg. In Rajshahi, around 60,000 people are employed in different guava gardens.

Sirajul told The Business Post the farmers are getting a profit of at least Tk 1 lakh from a bigha of land excluding all costs.

“Therefore, the total amount of profit stands at Tk 366.97 crore a year,” he said.

Supporting his remarks, the additional deputy director of Rajshahi DAE, Uttam Kumar Kabiraj, said around 24 tonnes of guava are harvested from a hectare of land in the division.

Of this, farmers of Godagari upazila in Chapainawabganj produce the highest amount of guava, he added.

He further mentioned that over 30 hectares of land in Godagari had been brought under guava cultivation.

During a recent visit to the area, hundreds of growers were seen harvesting guava from their orchards stretched along both sides of the Padma riverbank in Naogaon, Natore, and Chapainawabganj.

One of the growers from Godagari, Shahadat Hossain, said after completing his graduation from the economics department of Rajshahi College in 2013, he landed a good job at an IT firm in Dhaka as a senior accountant.

However, he always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and therefore, he left his job soon after a year.

In 2016, he partnered with two of his friends, leased a 105-bigha land, and started to cultivate Guava.

In a few years, he started earning Tk 1 lakh in profit from guava produced in a bigha of land.

“The lifespan of guava trees increases as chars are made of sandy-loam soil. In dry land, such trees do not live more than three years, while they can survive for up to five years in chars,” said Shahadat.

“We put emphasis on organic farming. However, we spray a small amount of pesticides and apply growth hormones. We also wrap each fruit in food-grade poly bags to keep insects away. It prevents fungal spots from appearing on the fruit as well,” he said.

It saves the environment and preserves the fruit at the same time. It does not take long to wrap a fruit because the trees grow eight to 10 feet tall, and labourers can do it easily, he added.

Shahadat further mentioned that he had employed 50 to 60 farmhands in his orchards, and each receives Tk 350 for each day of work. He sells one kilogramme of guava for Tk 40 to 45.