There has been a bright prospect for cultivation of Olives commercially in the Barind region of Rajshahi.
Farmers of the Barind region can earn a huge profit by cultivating Olives without a little effort. Like Mango or Litchi, Olive can also become an important commercial fruit for them.
In Bangladesh, two varieties of Olive are found. Of those, BAU Olive-1 is commercially cultivated in some districts of the country. Moreover, there are some indigenous varieties of Olive which grow without or with little care on the outskirts of houses and the elevated ground.
In our country, Olive fruit is used for preparing tongue-licking pickles or for eating as a souring agent. Though Olive Oil is valuable oil and a huge quantity of Olive Oil is imported into our country from abroad, there is no effort to prepare Oil from Olive here. Through the extraction of Oil from Olive, valuable forex can be saved and our country can become self-sufficient in Olive Oil.
In the local markets, Olives can be purchased at Tk 70 to 100 per kilogramme. From a large Olive tree, one can harvest 150 to 200 kilogramme of fruit which can be sold from Tk 10,000 to Tk20,000. Moreover, inside an Olive Garden, various vegetables, turmeric, Ginger, Pepper, Brinjal etc. can be cultivated as additional crops.
While talking about the medicinal properties of olive, Hakim Shahadat Hossain Munna, Director of Kolikata Herbal Medical informed, Olive Oil has wide use as a massage oil and as a cooking oil throughout the world.
Sources from the Agriculture Extension Department of Rajshahi informed, on the light, sandy soi, Olive is grown well. It is suitable for the climate of the country.
