Home ›› 10 Nov 2021 ›› Nation
Hundreds of olive growers in Debiganj upazila in Panchagarh district are delighted over the high market price during the current season as the newly-harvested olive has started appearing in the local market.
According to the Department of Agricultural (DAE) sources, Debiganj upazila is well-known for quality olive production, and growers in this area are making a handsome profit this season.
Some 12 hectares of land were brought under the cultivation of olive with the production target of 138 metric tonnes, they said.
During a recent visit to the area, The Business Post found that traders from other districts have started visiting the local markets to purchase the produce from the growers directly at a wholesale price.
According to the farmers, they harvest olive between September and December and make a sale worth Tk 20 lakh per day in the local market during this time.
They said they take advance money from traders and pay them back after harvesting. Each kilogramme of olive sells for Tk 30 to Tk 40 based on their quality and variety.
Traders said around 60 to 100 metric tonnes of olive are sold out every day.
A good number of farmers in Panchagarh said they have been cultivating the fruit in their homesteads as well as in their land for many years.
Samsul Haque, a farmer in Ramganj Bilasi village under Tepriganj union of the upazila, said: “I sold my olive orchard for Tk 3 lakh this year.”
Ajgar Ali, another grower, argued that he has eight olive trees in his orchard and earned Tk 1.5 lakh this year.
Mizanur Rahman, owner of an olive orchard in Debiganj, told The Business Post that he had been cultivating and trading olive for the past 11 years.
“I make a good profit every year. As olive cultivation requires less investment, hard work and attention, it’s easier to pursue than other crops,” Mizanur pointed out.
A trader Alamgir Hossain who came to the market to buy olive, said the quality and the taste of olive grown in this area is better than that in other areas, that is why he often visits the market.
“I come here twice a month to buy a large volume of olives which I distribute to other districts,” said the trader.
Agriculturist Md Mizanur Rahman, deputy director of the DAE, Panchagarh, said the soil and climate of the district are appropriate for olive cultivation. He said they are providing quality saplings to the farmers to boost their fruit production.
The high land is better for cultivating olive than low land, and that is why its farming is gaining popularity in high land areas of the district, added the DAE official.
