Fruit mixed farming becomes popular, profitable in Rajshahi

Fruit mixed farming, including intercropping and high-density planting, has become a popular and profitable agricultural practice that combines fruit cultivation with other crops and vegetables to increase income and land efficiency.

Key aspects include the cultivation of a wide variety of mangoes, citrus fruits like malta and lemon, and newer crops like dragon fruit, often using modern techniques such as drip irrigation and canopy management for higher productivity and resource efficiency. 

Farmers plant different fruit varieties and other crops together on the same piece of land to increase income from the same area.

Fruit-vegetable combined farming method is infusing dynamism into the local economy as it opened up a new horizon in the field of agriculture in the region, including its vast Barind tract. 

Many farmers adopted the modern method because they are making additional income from the same land in less time benefiting the traders and consumers in many ways. 

Varieties of fruits and vegetables, including guava, lemon, cucumber, brinjal, papaya, radish, bean, cauliflower, cabbage, red spinach, chili, pointed gourd, white gourd and balsam apple are being intercropped with orange, malta and dragon.

Jamal Hossain, a resident of Charghat Upazila, said many farmers are seen showing interest in intercropping of mango with various cereal crops especially paddy in the region because the method gives additional income to the farmers. 

Intercropping not only increases total crop production but also helps improve soil health and fertility with no negative effect on mango yield and quality. 

It also creates additional job opportunities needed for intensive crop production contributing a lot towards intensifying the rural economy. 

Hossain opined that the farmers face trouble in terms of only paddy cultivation in the wake of adverse impact of climate change for the last couple of years. 

To get more income and to recoup the losses, they are cultivating paddy, onion, garlic, brinjal, mustard, turmeric and papaya with mango as intercropping. 

For excellent output, the framers are creating new mango orchards of the new method. 

"I have an eight-bigha mango orchard of intercropping with various seasonal crops. I am getting additional income from the farming," said Jamal Hossain, while talking to BSS yesterday (29 November).

Engineer Sarwar Jahan, an agriculture entrepreneur of Huzripara village in Paba Upazila, has built a malta orchard on nine bigha of land in 2020 and cultivated early winter varieties of cauliflower, cabbage and green chili on the same land this season. 

He has been selling those for the last couple of weeks. Already he sold chili worth around Tk45,000, with malta almost Tk60,000. 

"I'm also getting a lucrative price of cauliflower and cabbage," Sarwar Jahan said, adding he has more of the high-value crops on the land. 
He also has a plan to transplant seedlings of pumpkin and cucumber after harvesting the cauliflower and cabbage. 

Mofakkar Hossain, a madrasa teacher, has cultivated cauliflower and cabbage on his dragon orchard on three bigha of land at Puthiyapara village under the same upazila. 

Hossain said he gained success in both dragon and vegetable farming commercially and that has brought economic emancipation to his life.

Azizur Rahman, additional director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), told BSS that the farmers' interest in the method is seen rising gradually as they are reaping more profit in less time. 

Quoting the latest official data he said vegetables have been cultivated on around 6,500 hectres in the mixed system in the region in the current season.

The intercropping has been gaining momentum in the region including its vast Barind tract as the growers in general are getting interested in this farming. 
In the wake of the adverse impact of climate change, farmers have been facing trouble in depending on only paddy cultivation for the last couple of years. 

To get more income and to recoup the losses, they are cultivating paddy, onion, garlic, brinjal, mustard, turmeric and papaya with mango. The farmers also created new mango orchards in the new method.