Mango plays vital role in Rajshahi region

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RAJSHAHI, June 3, 2018 (BSS) – Mango plays a vital role towards
improving living and livelihood condition of people in Rajshahi and
Chapainawabgonj districts.

Terming the seasonal fruit as an important cash crop, the scientists,
researchers and others concerned viewed that 85 percent people are dependent
on mango directly or indirectly in these two districts.

They made this observation while addressing a meeting on mango and its
economic perspectives at conference hall of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and
Industries in the city yesterday.

Deputy Commissioner SM Abdul Kader addressed the meeting as chief guest
while Superintendent of Police Md Shahidullah, Additional District Magistrate
Subrata Paul and Additional Deputy Commissioners Md Shalahuddin and Nasima
Khatun spoke as special guests.

Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension Monjurul Huda,
Senior Scientific Officer of Regional Mango Research Centre Dr Saraf Uddin
and mango farmer and businessman Ismail Khan Shamim shared their expertise on
the issue.

Abdul Kader urged the farmers and others concerned to harvest export
quality mango in the region for earning more foreign currency.

He said need-based measures were taken to brining all the mango farmers
under training for promotion of modern technologies for making the mango
harvesting and marketing process safe and hygienic to boost its export.

Agriculturist Monjurul Huda mentioned that modern technologies are
being promoted commercially in mango orchards in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj
districts during the present pre-harvest season to protect mango from pest
attack besides facilitating the farmers to get quality and better yield.

Mango is a leading seasonal cash crop of the country’s northwest region
and dominates the economy in the two districts famous for the delicious
fruit.

He said there are about 30 lakh mango trees of different ages and
varieties on some 32,816 hectares in the region.

If the modern technologies were promoted substantially and use of
chemical insecticides and pesticides could be reduced to a greater extent,
the modern method will open up a new door of exporting mango of the two
districts, to foreign markets.

Dr Saraf Uddin told the meeting that mangoes of the region are being
exported to some foreign countries for the last couple of years and expected
that the export volume will increase this year.

He told the meeting that the mangoes are being produced through adopting
fruit bagging technology. Last year, 30 tonnes of mangoes produced through
fruit bagging technology were exported to different European markets.

The success has been achieved by best practices and other modern
technologies in some mango orchards commercially in the two districts for the
last couple of years yielding more than 50 tonnes of exportable safe and
disease-free mango.

Dr Saraf said mango farming in fruit-bagging method has gradually been
rising here. If the mango was cultivated through this method there is no need
of pesticide use.