Farmers all smiles as lotkon yield high

Growers and traders process lotkon (Burmese grape) for sale at Morjal Bazar in Shibpur upazila under Narsingdi district.

Bumper production of lotkon (Burmese grape) has brought smile to farmers in Narsingdi as the demand for this delicious and nutritious fruit has increased in the market.
Lotkon trees would grow in bushes and jungles with almost no nurturing about two decades ago in the villages of Shibpur and Belabo upazilas of the district, where the soil is mainly red.

Lotkon is now grown on several hundred acres of land in these villages on commercial basis. Many farmers have become self-reliant by growing this seasonal fruit, and unemployed youths of the area are showing interest in cultivating Lotkon.
Lotkon from Narsingdi has been meeting the demand in the country and also being exported to various countries in Europe and the Middle East.
Sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Narsingdi, said the red soil in Shibpur, Belabo and Raipura upazilas of Narsingdi is rich in calcium and other minerals and is fit for cultivation of lotkon.
Last year, 581 hectares of land in the district were brought under lotkon cultivation. This year, the area has increased to 625 hectares. Besides commercial cultivation, lotkon is grown in the yards of homesteads and in fallow land, which is not included in the DAE statistics.
Big markets of lotkon have been set up at Morjal and Shibpur bazars for buying and selling of the fruit, and wholesale buyers from different districts come to the two markets to purchase the fruit every day.

Farmer Khorshed Miah of Ujilab village under Belabo upazila, said a maund of lotkon is selling for Tk 1,500 to Tk 4,000 in the wholesale market, depending on quality.
Sabuj Miah of Rajarbagh village in the same upazila said a full-grown lotkon tree normally produces 5 to 10 maunds of fruit.
Lotafat Hossain, deputy director of Narsingdi district DAE, said farmers in Narsingdi got bumper crop of Lotkon this year as the weather was favourable. He added that 9,663 tonnes of lotkon were produced in Narsingdi last year, and this year the production was 12,000 tonnes.