The farmers of Chuadanga, Meherpur, Jhenaidah, Kushtia, and Jessore districts have demanded punishment for the YouTubers spreading misinformation about dragon fruit.
They made this demand in a human chain organized in front of Mukto Moncho at the Jibonnagar bus stand in Chuadanga on Monday.
Speakers at the program said that they produce fruits for people. If the medicines they use are harmful, they can consider suggestions from the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Health.
YouTubers are not medical experts, so how can they claim that dragon fruit tonics are harmful for humans, they said.
One of the farmers said at the event: “We do not sell Indian hormones. We sell government-approved hormones. It does not contain any harmful ingredients. Some YouTubers are doing this to promote and sell Indian hormones illegally.”
Dragon fruit is considered a super food that became popular in Dhaka eight to ten years ago when it was affordable only to the wealthy and upper-middle class. At that time, big-size dragon fruits—red and white varieties—were imported from Thailand.
Experts say the soil and climate of Bangladesh are very suitable for dragon fruit cultivation. Dragon fruit can be grown in almost any type of soil free from flooding.
At present, there are commercial dragon fruit gardens in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Gazipur, Tangail, Pabna, Bogra, Rajshahi, Natore, Nilphamari, Narsingdi, Chittagong, and Chittagong Hill Tracts, and its cultivation is expanding in other parts of the country.
Some people are making video content and sharing it on YouTube, falsely claiming that local dragon fruit is getting big through the use of toxic and harmful chemicals. They claim that using tonics to increase the fruit's size harms health.
However, in July, the presence of pesticides in dragon fruit was tested in the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) laboratory. However, no harmful pesticides were found in it.
