Banana growers delighted over yield, price at Morrelganj

MORRELGANJ, BAGERHAT, May 21: Growers are delighted over bumper production of banana and good prices of their produce in Morrelganj Upazila of the district.
Sitting on banana fields, they are getting fair price of banana. Smile is on their face.
Along with shrimp, now banana is playing a pivotal role in developing the Bagerhat economy.
The banana farming is becoming popular in the upazila's Chingrakhali, Ramchandrapur, Bongram, and Hoglapasha unions. Once sapling planted, banana can be harvested for three times in 24 months or two years. It is cost-effective.
According to field sources, banana farming has changed lots of many people. Soil and weather of Morrelganj are suited to banana farming. In the upazila, the banana cultivation is increasing day by day.
After meeting local demand, banana is being sent to different districts of the country including Dhaka.
A trader, Anwar Parvez, who came from Dhaka's Kawran Bazar with truck, said, the banana of Morrelganj is tasty, so it has a good demand in Dhaka.
He added, many Fariah (middle-men) come to Kawran Bazar and look for banana of Morrelganj; it is now a brand. He brings three/four trucks of banana to Dhaka in a week.
Banana grower Hamidul Islam Kazi said, disease menace is not so high in banana farming; but storm breaks banana plants.
Another Ataur Rahman of Bongram Union said, at first he had farmed banana on one bigha. Later on, after getting good profit, I began banana cultivation on two bighas, and now I am farming banana regularly, he added.
According to sources at Department of Agriculture Extension-Morrelganj, in the last season, banana was farmed on 1,700 hectares of land in the district; this season's farming has exceeded that level. In the coming season, the banana farming will go up further.
Morelganj Upazila Agriculture Officer (Acting) Sifat Al-Maruf said, for being profitable, farmers are shifting to banana farming. Presently banana species are Anupam, Sagor, Sobri, Anaji, Chinichampa, etc.
He said, the agriculture department is inspiring farmers to cultivate rich species of green banana of cooking curry and supplying its saplings among them.
Besides, he added, advice is being given to farmers for not cultivating banana in the same land for more than two/three times in a year; if so, the fertility of soil will be under serious threat.  
If vegetables are farmed in the land after two years of banana farming, then banana can be farmed again on that land, and it will not be harmful for the land, he maintained.