Photo: Collected
A huge potential for cashew nut cultivation has been opened up in the hills. In the year 2021, under the cashew nut and coffee research, development, and extension project, under the supervision of the Kaptai Upazila Agricultural Extension Department, cashew nut and coffee cultivation was started experimentally on about 30 hectares of hill land.
In this, about 7 thousand M-23 cashew tree seedlings were planted on 50 acres of land by 10 farmers in the Karigarpara block of Raikhali Union of the upazila. After 3 years of planting, about 5,000 trees have flowered and among them, about 5,500 trees have yielded this year.
Farmers Angsui U Marma, Usai Marma, Paisui Khei Marma, and Sazai Pru Marma, who collectively cultivated cashew nuts on 10 acres of commercial orchard in Raikhali Karigar Para, told Bangladesh News Agency, "We are working with the cooperation and supervision of Kaptai Agriculture Department and according to their instructions." We have been fairly successful, hopefully, the cashew nut yield will be good too. Farmers said that in the coming year, the farmers here will see a hundred percent success in cashew nut and coffee cultivation.
At present, colorful cashew apples and cashew nuts are hanging all over the hill in the garden of Karnaks in Raikhali block. The same picture can be seen by visiting different parts of the garden.
In this regard, Upazila Agriculture Officer Md. Imran Ahmed told the Bangladesh News Agency (BASS) that cashew nut cultivation has opened up great potential in the remote hilly township of Kaptai. The experimental cultivation of cashew nut, a highly nutritious and high-value crop, shows that the soil of the hills is very suitable for this crop, due to which the cultivation of cashew nut crops in the hills is becoming very popular among the farmers day by day. The official said that the agriculture department is working to spread the cashew nuts among the farmers in the remote areas of the hills due to the success of the experimental cultivation.
Agriculture officials say that the climate and soil of the hilly areas are very suitable for cashew nut cultivation. If cashew nuts are cultivated along with other fruits in the orchards in this region, the hilly area will become an important area for cashew nut cultivation besides the farmers will benefit economically.
4 Solar Deep Irrigation Systems with water pipelines to trees have been introduced under the project of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension to supply water to gardens.
Raikhali Hill Agriculture Research Center was established in 1976 in Raikhali Union of Kaptai Upazila of Rangamati in the estuary of Karnaphuli River in 1976 with the aim of inventing crop varieties suitable for hill farming and other agricultural technologies.
Scientists working in this center have already achieved success by inventing different varieties of fruits. The scientists of this research center have reached the threshold of success by cultivating and researching coffee and cashew nuts in the hills. It is hoped that this possibility of cashew nut cultivation will spread to remote areas in the mountains.
Source: Online/GFMM
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