Three farmers have benefitted from cultivating the “black baby” variety of watermelon at Tala upazila’s Nagarghata union, in Satkhira district.
Other farmers in the region are also getting interested in cultivating the “black baby”, as the investment is low in terms of profit.
Rezaul Mollah, a farmer of the union, cultivated the “black baby” over 20 decimals of land this year, and the profit he reaped from it was much higher than his usual earnings. Farmers Khairul Islam and Anarul Islam also made profits like Rezaul.
Rezaul said: “Seasonal fruits like this type of water melon were never cultivated in this region before, and we were also not aware of this variety. This variety gives you more profit, and the cultivation process takes only 55 to 60 days to complete.
“Each ‘black baby’ weighs up to 2.5kg to 3kg,” he said.
Rezaul said he already sold Tk10,000 worth of “black baby”, and was hoping to sell another Tk20,000 worth of it from his remaining stock.
He also said no pesticides or chemicals were required in the cultivation process, and the “black baby” was completely chemical-free.
Rezaul added: “Seeing a variety of fruits and vegetables which I cultivated in my land, Nayon Hossain, an official from a private development firm ‘Unnyan Prochesta’ gave me the seed and fertilizers for ‘black baby’, and within only one and a half months, I saw positive results.
“I did not even go to the market to sell my produce; buyers came to my house and bought my watermelons. ”
Anarul said: “At first, I did not want to cultivate it, but after I did, I saw the results very soon and it is profitable. Next year, I hope to make more profits from cultivating it. It takes very little money to cultivate and the return is huge.”
He added: “No government officials from the agricultural department came to support us; it was done fully from the support of private organizations.”
Unnyan Prochesta’s Nayan said: “The support was given to the three farmers, jointly by Unnyan Prochesta and Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSK). By investing Tk40,000, a farmer can easily earn up to Tk1 lakh. This watermelon is a non-seasonal fruit.”
Nayan suggested prospective investors to use lands where direct sunlight was available and where water did not stay for more than 20 minutes.
Tala Upazila Agriculture Official Abdullah Al Mamun said: “I have heard about the cultivation process of the new variety of watermelon but never visited to see the fruit; therefore, I cannot comment further on it.”
Arbindu Biswas, the district Department of Agricultural Extension Deputy Director, said he was unaware of the matter.
