Kulboroi offers good prospects to Natore farmers

Kulboroi, a species of plum, brings bright prospects for the farmers of Natore district as its cultivation is more profitable than any other fruit due to the favourable weather pattern.

Many farmers of the district are involved in Kulboroi cultivation, thanks to better output and high demand in the local market, said Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) officials in the district.

Deputy Director of Natore District Agriculture Extension Department Mahmudul Faruq said plums have been cultivated on 234 hectares of land in Natore this season.

The cultivation of Baukul, Thai plum, Apple plum, coconut plum, and China plum is getting popular in many areas of the district.

Hundreds of growers have been making good profits from the sale of the fruit in recent years across the region.

The cultivation of the fruit is expanding fast across the area as it is proved to the peasant as more profitable and its production cost is less than that of many other crops or fruits, said Faruq.

Growers have been farming the fruit abundantly in Baraigram upazila, Chandpur of Sadar upazila and its adjacent areas for the last few years with the assistance of local agriculture officers. This year the growers of the fruit in different areas under the region are witnessing a good yield of the tasty fruit.

The soil as well as the environment of many areas of the region is quite suitable for its farming every season. The farmers have been cultivating the fruit in their homestead as well as orchard for many years and selling those at a good price.

Rubina Khatun, an apple plum grower at Chandpur, said she has been successfully cultivating the fruit in her land for the last few years on 1.5 bighas of land.

She said she is selling those at Tk 2,300-2,800 per maund to the wholesalers. She also said she has benefited from the cultivation.

Seeing the success of Baukul, Thai plum, Apple plum, coconut plum, and China plum, many people have engaged themselves in their cultivation. The DAE has advised the farmers to cultivate the fruit abundantly.

Farmers are expecting to make over Tk 0.7 million by growing plum in a hectare of land in the district against the production cost of Tk 50,000-90,000.

They can grow over 40-50 maunds of yield from a bigha of land.

During a recent visit in different areas, including Nazirpur, Mollarbattola, Mollabazar, Chachkair, and Mahmudpur of the district, this correspondent found wholesalers from different districts were visiting the kitchen market from very early in the morning to purchase plums from the farmers directly.

Bonpara Bazar of Baraigram upazila is the biggest wholesale market of Kulboroi in the district. When asked, Ashraful Alam Mithu, owner of Janata Fruit Store in the market, said there are 10 more wholesalers like him at the market. “Every day, hundreds of farmers from different big orchards come to the market to sell the fruit.”