Tangail Correspondent:

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is looking at the potential for a trade turnover of papaya amounting to around Tk 400 crore this season amid farming expansion in the district.

Sources said that the Madhupur upazila under the district, known as the capital of Pineapple, has produced more papaya this year. Since most of the areas in the upazila are relatively high, the interest of farmers here in cultivating Papaya after pineapple is increasing day by day.

A good number of farmers said that many growers have been earning handsome profit from commercial cultivation of papaya in recent times.

Papaya farming process is easy and it can be grown at homesteads and main cropland, they observed.

So, farmers here have become interested in cultivating papaya commercially along with other crops to meet the nutritional and vegetable needs of the fruit.

Papaya produced in Madhupur is being sent to several districts across the country, including the capital Dhaka.

According to sources from the Madhupur Upazila Agricultural Extension Department, papaya has been cultivated on 1,056 hectares of land in the upazila this year. The production has been estimated at 35-40 metric tons. The current market value is Taka 400 crore.

Agricultural officials mentioned that high-yielding varieties are easily available. This results in faster harvest, lower costs, and higher profits. At one time, papaya trees were planted only in the courtyards of houses. Now papaya is being cultivated commercially. Since it is a profitable crop, many agricultural entrepreneurs are coming forward to cultivate papaya commercially. And the DAE has also been providing advice and assistance in papaya cultivation.