Entrepreneur ARM Harisur Rahman of Culmilla has inspired many with his successful Bari-4 hybrid variety mango orchard.
The farmer expects to make a profit of Tk 5 lakh this year from his two acres of orchard in the Lalmai hills of the district. The expected yield is over 100 maunds this season.
Bari mango 4 is a high-yield hybrid variety with fruits that taste sweet both before and after ripening.
A retired government official, Harisur started his mango orchard on fallow hilly lands as a hobby at the request of agriculture officials. In a few years, he began cultivating commercially due to his success.
Head and Associate Professor Mohammad Ainul Haque of Comilla University’s Anthropology Department said, “After the successful cultivation of arum roots and cassava, tea and mango are being cultivated in Lalmai Hills in the last few years. The soil here is fertile. To maintain the ecological balance, various kinds of fruits and vegetables should be cultivated in the area.”
Cumilla Sadar South upazila DAE’s Assistant Agriculture Officer MM Shahriar Bhuiyan said, “The agriculture department is providing maximum support for this mango orchard. The Bari-4 variety is very sweet even before ripening. There is immense potential for mango cultivation in Lalmai Hillocks.”
How it began
The orchard is located in the Lalmai hillocks of the Baropara union in the district’s Sadar South upazila.
According to the entrepreneur, after retiring from his post of director (finance) of the Rural Electrification Board in 2015 he initially settled in Dhaka and only used to come back to his hometown of Cumillal once a while for charity work.
At that time, the agricultural officials including the chief scientific officer of the Cumilla Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) office contacted him and proposed to build a mango orchard on two acres of fallow land on the hillocks of Boro Dharmapur Mauza.
Harisur initially refused the proposal as he did not spend much time there and could not guarantee proper care of the saplings. He was sceptical about whether the soil was suitable for cultivation or not.
“The agriculture officials were relentless. They offered to provide the saplings. After considering things for a while I agreed and started my orchard in May 2016,” he said adding that his initial cost was about Tk 3 lakh.
The trees started budding within a year in 2017, and the fruits came in 2018. In the first year, I got about 50 maunds of mangoes. From the year next, I have been getting about 100 maunds of mangoes yearly from 250 trees.
“I started the orchard as a hobby of sorts, but now it has become commercial. The field officials of DAE regularly visit and help me with taking care of the plants,” Harisur said, adding that he currently has three full-time workers tending to the orchard alongside one nightguard.
During an on-spot visit to the orchard, this correspondent found workers busy monitoring the plants for infestation.
Locals of all ages go there to see this mango orchard on the hillocks by treading the winding paths of Lalmai.
