Himu's Window

Anwarul Haque allows me to see one of the mangoes inside the bag. The rising quantity of mango exports has been changing the farming practices of the fruit in the Rajshahi region as farmers are now opting for more chemical-free mango production, agriculturists say. Farmers are now gradually adopting organic farming methods as they intend to meet the high standards, required by the international markets. This year, a total of 92,913 hectares of land has been brought under mango cultivation in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, and Natore, said Md Shamsul Wadud, regional additional director at Rajshahi Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). A farm labourer covers a mango with a fruit bag that protects the fruit from pests, insects, rains, storms, and hailstorms.   But, safe or chemical-free mangoes were grown on only 630 hectares of land this year, which was around 500 hectares last year, said the DAE official. They have a plan to extend the area to 728 hectares next year, he said.

A Rajshahi-based farming company is exporting Gourmoti and Katimon varieties of mango to Russia. An Air Arabia flight left Dhaka for Russia Saturday morning with 200kg of Gourmoti and 75kg Katimon mangoes, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).  "This is the first time Bangladeshi mangoes are making an entry to Russia," said Mafizul Islam, deputy director (export) at the Plant Quarantine Wing of the department. The farming company MTB Agro and Garden collected the mangoes from the orchards of a farmer named Najim Uddin in Nachole upazila of Chapainawabganj, he added. Md Mahtab Ali, CEO of the MTB Agro, said, a Russian company called National Electric LLC, which worked for the Rooppur power plant, is importing the mangoes. "We have been trying for the last three years. This time, we saw success by ensuring good farming practices through many laboratory tests, and overcoming bureaucratic tangles," he said. The embassies of the two countries worke

May 17, 2018 The sweet scent of mango is in the air once again. But, instead of rejoicing, Rajshahi's orchardists are feeling uneasy. And the cause for their concern is the perplexing government attitude towards export of organic mangoes. The organic mango growers in the region had invested earnestly to improve cultivation methods, prodded by an industry crisis several years ago brought about by excessive chemical use on mango crops. They introduced the fruit-bagging method, which drastically cuts down the number of times mangoes are sprayed with pesticides before reaching the market. Bagged mangoes are sprayed with pesticides about three times, in contrast to 62 times under the unethically-grown non-bagging method. Organic mango growers naturally hoped to benefit from increased exports. But the reality has been starkly different. “They have produced a safe, organic crop but the government is failing to notice it. The farmers are dispirited now,” said Md Anwarul Hoque, the convenor