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Pirojpur's pioneer orchardist

Habibur Rahman with Andrew Eagle
Rome wasn't built in a day: a common adage that Pirojpur orchardist Hangsopoti Mistry, in his 50s, of Tarabuniya village in Sakharikathi union of Nazirpur upazila, can probably appreciate better than most. In his quest to be economically solvent Hangsopoti has pursued a path of small, considered steps, with a willingness to try that has, in recent years, quite literally born fruit.
Having been unable to complete higher level education due to family circumstances, Hangsopoti had little choice but to follow his father Profullo Mistry into the paddy field. Like the rest of Tarabuniya's farmers he grew paddy, season after season, for meagre profits.
Then, at the age of 40, he saw something on television that piqued his curiosity. “I often watched programmes on agriculture,” Hangsopoti recalls, “1 especially enjoyed documentaries on fruit cultivation aired on BTV.”
In the meantime, while visiting relatives in Satkhira, he noted their thriving jujube orchard which set his mind to wonder if he couldn’t grow fruit.
Deciding to try, Hangsopoti took aTk 2 lakh loan, with a further Tk 2.5 lakh collected from relatives, and he dedicated one acre of land beside the River Taltal to jujube, a development that made neighbours laugh. Nobody thought much about fruit orchards in Tarabuniya.
The following year Hangsopoti planted 100 litchi trees that he collected from Dinajpur; gradually he expanded his orchard to cover five acres of land. Now Hangsopoti has 350 litchi trees of mujaffapuri and China-3 varieties and around 800 amrapali and mollika mango trees as well as oranges and malta trees.
“The trees are like sons to me," he says, "I take great care of them.” Passing his whole day in the orchard and enlisting the help of his wife Happy Rani Mistry, Hangsopoti's fruits are in great demand in Tarabuniya and neighbouring villages. He also sells to wholesalers who visit his orchard.
“I never use chemicals on my fruit," he says, “I only apply pesticide during the flowering stage. People know the fruit from my orchard is tasty."
His current litchi crop is due for harvest and Hangsopoti is concerned about the quality this year due to a lack of rain. “If I had better rain I could have benefited more," he says, adding that damage from birds and bats is a constant challenge. "I try to protect the fruit by covering them
with nets."
But last year he earned about Tk 4,000 per 1,000 litchis and his orchard produced 400 maunds of mangoes, a crop that should be mature once again within a month.
Hangsopoti's efforts have not gone unnoticed by his neighbours. "At first we thought he was foolish," says villager Narayon Mistry. "But now we have seen the results."
"We never realised it was possible to grow flavour-some litchis here," says passerby Rafikul Islam.
"In the past," agrees another local Porimal Biswas, "we depended on seasonal fruits from other districts, but now we get them from our locality."
Inspired, more than 150 people in the area have embarked upon fruit culti-
vation, planting orchards that already cover around 300 acres of land. "When anyone wishes to become an orchardist," says Hangsopoti, "they usually ask my advice. I also sell them seedlings."
Pankaj Kumar Boral, subassistant agricultural officer in Nazirpur upazila, says that Hangsopoti is a role model farmer. "We have helped him with technical support," says Pankaj, “and he has done well."
With his dedicated efforts as an orchardist it has become much easier for Hangsopoti to bear the expenses of his nine-member household. "I could never explain to you just how happy I was on the day I collected the very first fruit from my orchard," he says, beaming.