Tk 500cr Haribhanga mango trade likely in Rangpur this year

Rangpur farmers are expecting a bumper production of Haribhanga mango, a fibreless, fleshy and highly tasty local variety in Rangpur agriculture region this year.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) at its Rngpur regional office predict a super bumper output of the mango worth about Tk500cr following favourable climatic conditions.

Mango growers are now busy nursing the plants and trees in the orchards to achieve the target of bumper produce.

According to the DAE, the farmers have cultivated the mango on 3,215 hectares of land in all five districts of the region fixing the production target of 20-22 tonnes per hectare including on 1,887 hectares of land in Rangpur alone while it was 2,500 hectares last year.

Horticulture Specialist, DAE Rangpur region, Khondoker Mesbahul Islam said, the target of the farming is likely to exceed this year.

The field-level agriculture officers are advising the farmers to take care of the plants in the orchard for their huge economic potential.

Mostafizur Rahman, a mango grower and trader at Moyenpur village in Akhirhat union under Mithapukur upazila said, the plants have witnessed huge sprouting this year which started at the beginning of February and it will continue till mid of March.

The variety has a huge demand across the country for its unique taste. Traders from different areas of the district and elsewhere in the country have started advance contact with the local growers and purchase the orchards for business.

Deputy Director, DAE Rangpur, Obaidur Rahaman said the budding started early this year. The farmers will get bumper yield if the sprouting is not affected by the wild wind in the month of Boishakh.

Several mango orchards have been developed in different upazilas of the district over the past years as the growers found farming lucrative compared to other crops.

The number of orchards in the district has been increasing every year. Many of the paddy farmers have been cultivating mango in their lands instead of paddy for economic benefit. People in the villages are even seen cultivating the plant in their yards and abandoned spaces. Farming has strengthened the rural markets of the districts by creating huge job opportunities for vulnerable people that adds a new dimension to the regional economy.

The farmers are expecting to do business with the seasonal fruit for around Tk 500 crore this year while they traded around Tk 400 crore last year.

Being encouraged, the farmers started to plant Amropali and BARI -4 varieties of mango beside the Haribhanga variety in the district, Obaidur Rahman added.

Abdul Alim, a mango grower in Padaganj area under Badarganj upazila of the district said he developed an orchard on one acre of land. He is expecting a bumper harvest of the fruit if the weather remains favourable. The cultivation of the variety has a great significance in the district to change a lot of the rural people making them economically solvent.

Padaganj is the largest wholesale mango market in the region. The seasonal fruit is usually transported largely elsewhere in the country and even exported abroad from here.

Another farmer cum trader, Mahafuzar Rhaman who has a big orchard on eight acres of lands at Sukurer hat village in Moyenpur union of Mithapukur upazila said, the village is almost filled with mango orchards. The farmers who have high lands in the area, at least have a small mango orchard as the farming proved lucrative.

He earned Tk 15 lakhs selling the mango from the garden last year excluding all expenses.

RDRS Bangladesh Senior Coordinator Mamunur Rashid said the cultivation of Harivhanga mango is expanding every year in the region as the variety has got huge demand in the national and global markets.