Shamsul Alam's Latkan Orchard

About

Shamsul Alam, a retired agriculture teacher of Ghatail Saleha Yusufzai Girls' High School, planned a commercial orchard after seeing a latkan tree fruit well in his own village. In 2014 he visited orchards in Narsingdi, the district known for latkan, learned from growers there, brought seeds back, raised the saplings himself and planted them on 7.5 acres next to his house. The trees took five to six years to fruit and he had to cut down more than 2,000 male trees; about 2,500 trees now bear well. Last year he sold about Tk 5 lakh worth of latkan. Fruit traders from nearby districts and upazilas come to the orchard, pick the fruit from the trees themselves, and he weighs and sells it in front of his house; a trader from Gopalpur bought at Tk 70 a kg. Traders say this latkan tastes better than Narsingdi's. He says latkan needs little care and no chemicals; the upazila agriculture office advises him.

Products and services

• Latkan (Burmese grape)

  Tk 70 / kg

  Sold wholesale at the orchard; traders pick it themselves

Prices as given by the owner; ask before you buy.

Address and hours

To learn or to work here

• Visitors welcome