Once earning an income by working on other people's land on a contract basis, he has now changed his fortune by planting a banana plantation. Anwar Hossain. Thousands of farmers like him are now thriving by cultivating bananas. However, although there is an opportunity to change the fate of banana cultivation, farmers are not getting the desired price due to the lack of specialized cold storage for storage. Still, due to favorable soil and weather, commercial banana cultivation is becoming popular day by day in the Rangpur region.
Anwar Hossain, a farmer from Takeya village in Pairaband union of Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur, said, "We have an opportunity to change our fate by cultivating bananas. There are also some problems. When we harvest a lot of bananas at once, we have to sell them to farmers at a low price due to the lack of cold storage. If there is a little delay, the bananas start to spoil. This does not yield the expected profit. However, this farmer believes that it is possible to earn a good income with little effort in cultivating bananas."
In addition to agricultural land in various villages of Rangpur, banana trees can now be seen on roadsides, ponds, or empty spaces next to houses. In some places, there are large banana gardens. Interest in banana cultivation is increasing among local farmers due to the high profit at low cost.
According to local banana farmers, this region is suitable for banana cultivation. The bananas here are sent to different districts of the country to meet the local demand. However, due to the lack of proper storage and advanced processing facilities, a huge amount of bananas are being wasted every year, which has become a major obstacle to this potential sector. If necessary steps are taken, the bananas of this region will play an important role in the national and local economy - this is what the concerned people believe.
According to sources from the Rangpur and Dinajpur Regional Agricultural Extension Department, banana is being cultivated more or less in eight districts of Rangpur division. Various varieties of banana including Sagar, Malbhog, Chini Champa and Meher Sagar are being cultivated extensively in a vast area.
Farmers say that once a banana tree is planted, it can yield a long-term harvest. Many young entrepreneurs are now turning to banana cultivation because of the high profit with little capital and less effort. However, the problem occurs after harvesting. Since bananas are a perishable fruit, if they are not sold in the market quickly after being picked from the field, they rot.
Banana cultivation is growing silently: According to the data provided by the Rangpur Regional Agricultural Extension Department, in the 2022-23 fiscal year, 112,357 metric tons of banana were cultivated on 4,208 hectares of land in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts. The second highest fruit production in that year was mango, which amounted to 70,070 tons against 5,785 hectares of land.
In the 2023-24 financial year, bananas were cultivated on 2260 hectares of land in Rangpur district and produced 88,140 metric tons, Gaibandha district produced 12,870 tons on 1188 hectares of land, Kurigram district produced 13,860 tons on 405 hectares of land, Lalmonirhat district produced 7,200 tons on 180 hectares of land, and Nilphamari district produced 12,157 tons of bananas. In those five districts, bananas were cultivated on a total of 4,356 hectares of land and produced 134,227 metric tons. In that year, mango production was 69,774 tons against 5,748 hectares of land.
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, bananas were cultivated on 4077 hectares of land in those five districts and 134,916 metric tons were produced. Of this, Rangpur district produced 88,140 tons against 2260 hectares of land, Gaibandha produced 11,093 tons against 746 hectares of land, Kurigram produced 17,870 tons against 496 hectares of land, Lalmonirhat district produced 7,477 tons against 180 hectares of land, and Nilphamari district produced 14,336 tons on 395 hectares of land. In that year, the second highest fruit was mango, which was cultivated on 5,808 hectares of land and produced 75,564 tons.
Meanwhile, bananas are cultivated on 3,000 to 5,000 hectares of land every year in Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts.
These bananas are sold for several crores of taka every day at Dashmail in Dinajpur, Shathibari in Mithapukur upazila on the Rangpur-Dhaka highway, Palashbari in Gaibandha, and Phansitla Hat in Gobindaganj.
Faria Chakra is taking advantage of the lack of conservation: Despite bumper banana production in the Rangpur region, no government or private banana processing center has been established here. As a result, it is not possible to take up any commercial ventures like making chips, juice, or powder from bananas. In addition, due to the lack of improved transportation and packaging, a large portion of bananas are damaged while being sent from the fields to various major markets in the country, including Dhaka. Taking advantage of this, middlemen or hawkers syndicate and buy bananas from farmers at nominal prices. As a result, farmers are being deprived of their desired profits despite their hard work.
Saju Mia, a banana farmer from Tushabhandar Paikantari village in Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat, said that the production cost of one bigha (27 percent) of land is 40 to 50 thousand taka. 300 seedlings can be planted on that amount of land. If the bananas are good, one bunch of bananas is sold for 400-500 taka. In this, one bigha of land can be sold for 1 lakh 20 thousand to 1 lakh 50 thousand taka. The price is even higher during the fasting period.
Saju said, "However, bananas are a perishable product. They cannot be stored for long after they are picked from the tree. If there were facilities for preservation and processing, it would be possible to earn double or more money."
Moja Mia, a farmer from the village, said that to keep the plantation profitable commercially, a sapling is planted and the fruit is harvested a maximum of 2 to 3 times (once from the main tree and then 1-2 times from the secondary crop). After that, the entire garden has to be uprooted and new saplings are planted again. Because after 3 times, the size of the banana becomes smaller and the attack of diseases increases a lot.
Demand for the establishment of a specialized collection center: According to banana farmers, farmers in this region would have benefited the most if there were high-quality specialized processing centers and sustainable storage systems. But in the absence of these, the market Farmers are helpless in the hands of the syndicates, who are everywhere, starting from the market. They claim that if specialized collection centers are established near the market or market, the violence of the street vendors will at least reduce to some extent.
Anisur Rahman, a banana farmer from Palashbari Upazila of Gaibandha, said, "Usually in this region, we eat bananas when they ripen after they are picked from the tree. Or we use raw bananas as a vegetable. But apart from that, we cannot use bananas in many ways. One of the reasons for this is the lack of long-term storage and processing facilities. As a result, small and medium banana farmers like us are not able to benefit much financially."
According to Anisur Rahman, if a cold storage or specialized collection center can be built near every major banana market by government or private initiative, considering its nutritional value and versatile uses, it will revolutionize banana cultivation. Not only will farmers and traders benefit from this, but consumers will also get chemical-free, fresh bananas throughout the year at a fair price.
Economic possibilities and things to do: According to businessmen and agricultural experts, if modern banana preservation and processing systems are ensured in the Rangpur region, it could bring about a huge revolution in the national and local economy.
Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Emdadul Hossain said, "Not only bananas, but there is no system for preserving and processing any other fruit including mango, litchi, jackfruit and so on in this region. A separate industrial policy must be adopted in this region for the sustainable development of this sector. Bank loans at low interest rates for banana farmers, construction of temperature-controlled cold storage suitable for preserving bananas, establishment of processing factories to make various food products from bananas, direct connection of large chain stores with farmers so that middlemen can be avoided, training of farmers on cutting bananas in modern ways, packaging and natural ripening of bananas must be arranged." If government and private initiatives are taken, this art will also play an important role in the national economy.
Agriculturist Sirajul Islam, Additional Director of the Rangpur Regional Agricultural Extension Department, said, "Banana is a wonderful fruit that can be used to prepare a variety of delicious dishes in both its raw and ripe state. Just as raw bananas are a nutritious vegetable, ripe bananas can be used to make wonderful desserts and snacks."
He also said that banana leaves can be cleaned and cut and cooked with potatoes and spices to make a vegetarian curry or fish curry, which is a great source of iron. With the right combination of government sponsorship and private initiatives, it is possible to meet the country's demand for bananas from the Rangpur region and export them abroad, which will increase the country's economy and farmers' income manifold.
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by M F Zaman,Rangpur Bureau • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
