People of Naogaon district have been engaged in mango cultivation along with paddy and vegetable cultivation for the past one century. Md Raihan is an exception among them. Cultivated by Dragon and Malta. It does not end here, Raihan's success in cultivating dragon and green malta is now leading the way for others. Seeing him, many have started dragon and malta farming.
Raihan's house is in Doash village of Tilna union of Sapahar upazila of Naogaon. He was born in a middle class farmer family. He is the eldest among three brothers and two sisters. While studying in higher secondary, he developed a mango orchard on his four bigha land near his house as a hobby. After two years, he earned one and a half lakh rupees by selling mangoes. In this way, every year he keeps saving the money he earns from his garden without spending it. Along with that he continued his studies. After completing his education, he came to the village and leased his own and others' land and built more mango orchards.
In 2019 Porsha upazila in Bandhupara area leased 50 bigha of land and built a mango, pear, dragon and malta garden. 13 bighas are under mixed cultivation of dragon and malta while the remaining 37 bighas are mixed plantations of mango and Thai guava. Within a year of planting, malta and dragon fruit are available within 15 months. The first round of sales is four lakh taka. Now the annual sales from dragon and malta garden are about 15 lakh taka. In the current season, he will have an income of around 7 lakh rupees after excluding expenses from selling dragon and malta. The garden is lined with dragon and malta trees. Three-year-old seven- to eight-foot-tall malta trees hold clumps of malta. Malta trees are planted in rows. The dragons produced by Raihan's garden are going to different markets of the country including Bogra, Rajshahi and Dhaka besides the local market of Naogaon. So far he has sold fruits worth about 30 lakh rupees. In the current season, he has sold dragons worth about 5 lakh rupees since last June and malta goats worth 3 lakh rupees since last August. Now 3.5 to 4 maunds of dragons and 20 to 22 maunds of malta come from his garden every week.
Raihan said, "I think that malta and dragon fruit cultivation is more profitable than mango, guava, plum." Dragon fruit farming in particular is more likely to be economically successful. Farmers will also benefit by cultivating more and more dragon fruit to meet their nutritional needs. After he started dragon and malta farming, now many people in the area are learning dragon and malta farming methods from him.
Many have already started farming. In addition to this mixed fruit orchard of 50 bighas in Bandhupara area of Porsha, there are mango orchards covering 200 bighas of land in different areas of Sapahar and Patnitala upazilas.
His investment in these gardens is about three crore rupees. He also said, since I learned to understand a little, I wanted to be self-reliant by doing something instead of studying and working. According to the test results I am not that brilliant. Maybe I could not have been so successful in life by working. Thinking about the current situation, I think that I have made a good decision by becoming an agricultural entrepreneur instead of working. As an agricultural entrepreneur, I am now earning around half a million rupees a year by cultivating mangoes, guavas, dragon fruit and malta. Besides, 20 to 25 people are regularly working in my garden for their livelihood. It would not have been possible for me to earn so much money and employ so many people.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Sanjib Kumar Sarkar said, if only mangoes were cultivated, they would get production for two to three months in a year. Raihan has made a good decision by cultivating guava, malta and dragon there besides mangoes. He is benefiting more financially. Apart from mangoes, farmers are inclined to cultivate malta and dragon fruit.