Pineapple garden turns into tourist hub

A pineapple garden that started its journey as a hobby has now become a tourist attraction in Sylhet’s Golapganj upazila.

Abdul Matin Chan Miah Pineapple Garden, located in Dattarail village of the upazila was established in 2018 on a small hillock. The orchard has now expanded to about 70 acres of land and cultivates pineapples and some other fruits commercially.

However, it has also been turned into an entertainment centre and hundreds of tourists visit the farm locally known as Chan Miah’s Pineapple Garden daily.

The orchard is established on the family-owned lands of Abdul Matin and is also managed by them. Mainly Jaldhupi varieties of pineapples are cultivated on small hillocks.

According to Chan Miah’s family sources, currently, there are about two lakh pineapple trees and about Tk 20-25 lakh worth of pineapples are sold per season. In addition, the average daily earnings from visitors’ entry fees and small snack stalls in the garden are about Tk one lakh.

The sources further said that excluding the garden’s maintenance cost the rest of the money is distributed among the poor people of society through the Abdul Matin Chan Miah Education Trust.

Sarforaj Suman, one of the initiators of the garden said they plan on expanding cultivation further by using modern farming methods. The growing demand of consumers has motivated them to expand the scope of cultivation.

According to related sources, an average of 400-500 people visit Chan Miah’s pineapple garden daily, but on weekends the number doubles. And on special occasions and holidays over 2,500 tourists visit the garden.

The garden has 10-12 permanent workers for maintenance and some 100 more are hired during pineapple plantation and harvest season.

Meanwhile, many others in the area started pineapple cultivation inspired by the success of Chan Miah’s pineapple garden. While pineapple farming had once been common in the area, farmers turned to other crops over the years due to various reasons.

However, it is once again gaining traction and has brought economic prosperity to the locals.

In an on-spot visit to the garden last week, this correspondent found the area crowded with visitors of different ages.

A visitor, Manowar Hossain came from Angura Mohammadpur village of Beanibazar upazila. He commented positively on the pleasant environment of the garden. “I am glad that the garden allows visitors. It is nice to be able to observe pineapple farming,” he said.

However, some tourists urged the authorities to work on more infrastructural development for the comfort of the visitors.

In regards to the garden, Sarforaj Suman told The Business Post that they are thinking about paying more attention to the overall development of the garden.

“The garden began as a hobby for our family but was expanded on unused fallow lands. Seeing the interest of the tourists we are planning on expanding the garden further,” he said.

Department of Agricultural Extension, Sylhet Deputy Direction Kazi Mujibur Rahman said they regularly monitor Chan Miah’s pineapple garden as it has good potential in both the agriculture and tourism sector.

“Other than pineapple, the area is land is also suitable for farming crops like coffee and nut. We hope more people will make use of their fallow lands and expand various types of crop farming,” he said.