The farmers in Jhenidah and surrounding areas have been showing least interest in farming the jackfruit as the price of the fruits have fallen sharp in the market.
Rahmat Ali, a farmer of Bishoykhali Bazar in Jhenidah Sadar upazila, said officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) have been saying that the demand of the fruit will increase as the government had taken initiatives to prepare quality bread, biscuit and some other food items processing the jackfruit. But there is no development in this regard. He draws attention of the government in this regard.
Golam Rabbani, a farmer of Baroipara village, echoed the same as Rahmat Ali.
The timber of jackfruit tree was most choosable for the people in both rural and urban for making durable and lucrative yellow-colour furnishers. The house owners have been showing more interest in using the semi-synthetic ones made from particle boards or plastic boards for easy transportati0on least weight.
Anima Adhikary, an old woman, said that they had prepared a number of cakes, widely known as pitha with jackfruit and some other fruits to entertain the guests in past times. The rural women enjoyed the jackfruit flesh with milk and panta then.
Mahmudullah, 65, a jackfruit vendor of Madaripur, rushed in a Jhenidah market to purchase the jackfruit. He said the demand of the jackfruit was more in Madarpr, Shariatpur, Jhalakathi and some other parts of the river banks area a few years back. But the demand started decreasing gradually there for an unknown reason.
They had been purchasing each one hundred pieces of jackfruit at Taka 3,000 to 5,000 about five to six years back. The price is lower than the past time due to lest price. As the demand is lest now, their business is going to be quizzed every year, Mahmudullah informed.
According to the DAE office sources, the farmers of the district brought 1,037 hectares of land under the jackfruit farming in 2018-2019 fiscal. They produced 24,745 tones of jackfruit on their land in the season.
The production of the same is likely to decrease in the current season as no major quanti0ty of jackfruit saplings was sold in the last season. Demand for the same might not exceed the past year’s achievement, the sources said.
Jhenidah DAE’s Deputy Director GM Abdur Rauf admitted the decreasing trend of jackfruit farming in Jhenidah and suburbs. He said although the farmers could not receive optimum price of their fruits now, it will not hamper their financial interest as the timber had a good demand in the society for the best timber value in the market.
The farmers also should consider the environmental issue of the country to protect the area from excessive heat other calamities a lot transplanting more and more saplings of jackfruit and some other fruit bearing plants every year, GM Abdur Rauf said.
