Pineapple on 5 bigha of high land where nothing grew: Tk 1 lakh of fruit sold in a year

In Lohadi village, Barishab union, Kapasia upazila of Gazipur, one farmer had high land where no crop would grow. On the advice of nearby farmers and the local agriculture office he planted pineapple there. Today he grows the Jholdhup variety on five bigha across two separate plots, and the garden is five years old. According to the Prothom Alo report, he sold Tk 1 lakh of pineapple from the two plots this year, and the garden also sells pineapple seedlings regularly. Another farmer in the same area planted about three bigha with Calendar and Jholdhup varieties because the land was not suited to rice. In his second year he sold Tk 50,000 of pineapple, and each seedling sells for Tk 8 to 10. Farmers say pineapple has few diseases, and Jholdhup ripens earlier than other types, so it fetches a good price. The upazila agriculture office says pineapple was grown on 450 hectares in Kapasia in 2021-22 and about 10,000 farmers grow it regularly. The agriculture officer said farmers who ask for credit will be offered government loans at 4 percent interest against their land.