NARSINGDI, June 3, 2020 (BSS) – A number of unemployed educated youths have changed their fortune by farming Colombo lemon in the high lands of Shibpur, Belabo, Monohardi and Raipura upazilas of the district in last ten years.
Some unemployed youths started cultivation of Colombo lemon on small scale on experimental basis in the four upazilas of the district and achieved remarkable success as their success encouraged many others to cultivate and raise orchards of the juicy and extraordinary flavor fruit.
Seeing the interest of the farmers and finding climate and soil of the district suitable for Colombo lemon cultivation, in 2012, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) took a programme to make farmers cultivate export quality lemon in four upazilas.
Under the programme, a total of 50 new orchards of Colombo lemon (each orchard spread one bigha) were set up in the four upazilas of the district.
The DAE supplied 160 sapling of Colombo lemon to each grower of the orchards and imparted them training on producing quality lemon.
Besides some farmers in different areas of the district raised a number of orchards by their own initiative and they are, at present, harvesting good quality lemon from their orchards.
According to DAE Narsingdi, farmers in four upazilas currently are cultivating Colombo lemon in 2200 orchards on 480 hectares of land. This year, they have so far produced over 5200 tonnes of lemon in the district.
Khandaker Mahabub of Dattargoan village under Shibpur upazila of the district started lemon cultivation on 30 decimal of lands in 2006. He succeeded in Colombo lemon cultivation and gradually raised a garden by planting 800 saplings on 120 decimals of land. This year, he got an excellent outcome from his garden.
He expressed satisfaction for earning Tk 300000 by now by selling the lemon this season.
Farmer Babul Chowdhury of Lakshimipur village in Raipura upazila of the district also narrated his successful story cultivating the Colombo lemon in his 300 decimals of land. He said this year, so far, he earned Tk 7, 00000 by selling lemon from his garden.
DAE deputy director Shovan Kumar Dhar told BSS that Colombo lemon has great demand in the local and neighborhood markets as it is being exported abroad specially European and Middle East countries.
Each kilogram Colombo lemon is being sold at Tk 50 to 60 in the local markets as only 4 to five pieces of lemon measure one kg.
Dhar said April, May and June are the best time for harvesting Colombo lemon, expressing that, this year Narsingdi district will export over 2000 metric tons of Calombo lemon abroad.
The deputy director said Colombo lemon tree generally grows on high fallow lands where scope of other crop cultivation is limited. Some 200 saplings can be planted on per bigha of land which produce an average 50 to 60 mounds of yield. Each tree can bear 80 to100 lemon in a year.