Home ›› 21 Nov 2022 ›› Nation
Cultivation of sweet orange, commonly known as malta, has gained popularity in three northern districts of Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, and Panchagarh due to increased demand and reasonable prices.
Many farmers in the districts have become economically solvent cultivating Malta.
ANM Jakaria, 35, a youth from Khatta village under Hili upazila in Dinajpur, has become economically solvent cultivating the vitamin-rich fruit on a small amount of land in his village for the last six years.
Encouraged by the local agriculture office, Jakaria started malta farming initially on 20 decimals of land. He sowed 60 plants on the land and made a reasonable profit which inspired him a lot. He then expanded the orchard further.
He planted fresh saplings of malta and orange on two bighas of land nearby his house. He is getting adequate profit annually and has engaged three youths to nurse the garden.
Many farmers in the area started the fruit cultivation being inspired by his success.
A worker of the orchard, Jahangir said, “We three people take care of the orchard. We nurse the plants, pluck fruit and sell the produce to the traders or in the markets. We get Tk 500 daily wage.”
The malta farmer Jakarai received 60 malta saplings of BARI -1 variety from the upazila agriculture office and planted on 20 decimals of fallow land nearby his house in 2016. Of the trees, 36 survived and started bearing fruits within two years.
He distributed the fruits of the first year among the neighbours and locals. ‘’I cashed Tk 35,000 from the first sale of fruit in 2019. I hope to get an average of Tk 1.40 lakh selling the fruits in the next two consecutive years as the yield in the orchard is quite overwhelming. The profit margin stood around Tk 1 lakh excluding all expenditure,” he added.
Inspired by the success and on the suggestion of the upazila agriculture office, he established a new orchard on two bighas of land and planted some 485 malta and orange saplings of different varieties in 2021.
Of the varieties, 150 were Darjeeling orange, 60 were Vietnam all-season malta and the rest were BARI-1 malta. He has invested around Tk 3 lakh and is likely to invest more.
Malta trees have already started bearing fruit in the orchard. Malta is being sold to wholesale traders for Tk 100-Tk 120 per kg depending on the size. “If everything goes well, he will get back his investment next year,'' he hoped.
Before cultivating Malta, one needs to examine the soil condition and follow the direction of the local agriculture office. October is the best time to start harvesting the fruit.
Some 242 hectares of land have been brought under malta cultivation in three districts, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, and Panchagarch, in the current season with an expected production target of about 1,340 tonnes, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
Another successful farmer, Mahafuzar Rahman of Tepukuria village in Boda upazila under Panchagarh, said, "I started the sweet orange farming seven years back on a small scale, and later I expanded the cultivation on more lands as I made a profit.”
Additional director of the DAE office in Rangpur, Agriculturalists Mohammad Shah Alam said malta cultivation was first introduced in the northern districts under the "Citrus Development Project" back in May 2013. Later it was renamed as "Citrus Fruits Extension, Management, and Increasing Production Project" in 2018.
The acidic soil and climatic conditions in Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh are most suitable for orange cultivation, he said, adding that the DAE is providing the farmers with all kinds of modern technology needed for boosting fruit production.
Mamunur Rashid, senior coordinator of Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) said the pattern of agriculture in the northern districts is changing. The high-value crops like malta cultivation are increasing alongside other crops in the region. People also are earning additional money by planting papaya and banana in their malta gardens. Malta has a huge demand in the domestic market due to its rich nutrient value and quality presence of Vitamin C.