40 Vietnamese coconut seedlings at Tk 600 each; not one coconut in four years

Hoping that the dwarf Vietnamese coconut would bear fruit within three years, more than a hundred farmers in Jhenaidah planted orchards. According to a Bangla Tribune report, although there were about 2,100 Vietnamese coconut trees in six upazilas of the district, coconuts had not yet appeared on anyone's trees. An expatriate from Kaliganj upazila was inspired by reports about this coconut on television and YouTube while living in Saudi Arabia. He then bought 40 seedlings at Tk 600 each from the Magura Horticulture Centre and planted an orchard. But even in four years no coconuts came; having suffered financially, he went abroad again, and the orchard lies as it was. Another farmer from Khajura village in Sadar had planted 40 trees on a horticulture demonstration plot; in five years flower clusters emerged on a few trees, but not a single coconut set. He said that when the project was given, he had been shown dreams of crores of taka. Some have cut down their trees in frustration; on one person's trees 30–35 coconuts set, but they were small and split before ripening. The district agriculture officer said this variety needs a great deal of care. A former director general of BARI and coconut expert said the country's climate is not favourable to this variety, and those who planted orchards made a mistake.