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Success in dragon fruit farming

Our Correspondent, Niiphamari
Age cannot be a barrier for someone who wants to experience something new.
Forty-five-year-old Ismail Hossen of Khaturia village in Domar upazila has shown the way to many by setting up the biggest dragon fruit orchard in Rangpur division by his hard work and intelligence.
Ismail, who expanded his fruit orchard to 22 bighas of land within three years, is also counting a handsome profit as dragon fruit, national fruit of Thailand, is now gradually gaining popularity in our country.
Alongside local people, his success story also attracts many important personalities of the country like Mokbul Hossain, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture Affair, who visited the orchard a few months ago.
Besides, Mehedi Masud, director of Agriculture Ministry's project 'Developing Nutrition through Year-long Fruit Production,' also visited Ismail's fruit garden on August 1, 2017.
While sharing his experience, Ismail said, "With a dream of doing something innovative, I returned to my native village in 2016 after resigning from a private job. Then I met one of my relatives Reyasat
Karim who suggested me to go for dragon fruit cultivation."
“I was convinced when Reyasat told me that after attaining food security, the government is now planning to develop nutritional status and dragon fruit has both medicinal and nutritional values," he added.
In 2016, Ismail planted 600 dragon fruit saplings around 150 trellises, a concrete pillar with a tyre on its top, in one bigha of land as at least four saplings can be planted around each trellis.
After a year, he started collecting 15 kilograms of fruit from each tree and sold 2,250 kilograms for Tk 5.5 lakh at Tk 250 per kilogram.
"After getting success in the first season, I expanded my orchard to 11 bigha in the next year and then to 22 bigha in the current year and Reyasat has become my partner now," he said.
Horticulturist Khondokar Mesbahul Islam of regional Department Agriculture Extension in Rangpur said the dragon fruit orchard at Khaturia village is the biggest in the division.
The soil in the area favours cultivation of the fruit as the earth is sandy and rainwater doesn't remain stagnant, he said.