Following a tour in 2017, I returned this past week for an extensive visit to several districts in the Barisal division. My journey this time brought me to the famous floating market in Bhimruli, Jhalakathi.
Every morning, hundreds of farmers arrive by boat laden with guavas, selling them to bulk buyers who transport the fruit through riverine routes before shipping it by land to Dhaka and across the country.
Between 2017 and 2026, the greater Barisal region has undergone a profound transformation and not just in how it is spelled. The substantive shift lies in how the region has evolved from a relatively isolated, river-dependent territory into a rapidly urbanizing connectivity hub.
This transition was accelerated by a historic megaproject that directly integrated the southern division into the national economy. Consequently, the overnight launch journey -- once a staple of southern travel -- is no longer the primary option for travelling between the capital and the divisional headquarters.
Looking ahead, a planned 11-kilometre bridge, the country's largest, over the Tentulia River is in the pipeline. Once built, it will further integrate the southwest with the rest of the country, finally linking the isolated island district of Bhola with the Barisal mainland.
The mighty Padma Bridge has streamlined road communication to the point that Barisal is, theoretically, just a two-hour drive from Dhaka. In reality, potholes across a long stretch of National Highway-8, particularly along the Madaripur and Gournadi sections, effectively double that travel time.
While the recent spike in Barisal's metropolitan population reflects a massive influx of internal, rural-to-urban migration, the region simultaneously records some of the highest out-migration rates to the Dhaka metropolitan area.
This dual trend reflects both the newfound ease of accessing the capital due to improved infrastructure and the persistent challenges of joblessness and a lack of industrialization within the greater Barisal region itself.
Amid these sweeping changes, one frustrating constant remains: The stagnant fate of the division's famous fruit-farming zone, spanning Barisal, Jhalakathi, and Pirojpur.
Farmers here grow an abundance of guava, hog plum, and lemon, yet they are forced to sell their entire yield within short harvest windows due to the total absence of cold storage, processing, or value-addition facilities.
I vividly remember attending a farmers' congregation on the playground of Baukathi Bindubashini High School in Jhalakathi in the summer of 2017. The school is just a few kilometres from Bhimruli -- a village blessed by the Kirtipasha Canal, fed by the Sugandha River, and intricately connected to the Atghar-Kuriana canal network.
Back then, farmers lamented that despite harvesting historic volumes of guava and hog plum, the region lacked a single agro-processing facility to utilize their produce.
I recall sharing a tight cabin with two powerful sitting ministers in a small helicopter that flew us in for that rapid day visit, where hundreds of local farmers had gathered to voice their concerns and explain how a minor policy push could transform the agrarian economy.
Stepping onto the Bhimruli waterfront last Sunday, I found the area buzzing with producers, traders, and crowds of tourists. Some boatmen were ferrying heavy loads of fruit, while others guided visitors through the winding canals, the floating market, and nearby orchards.
A vibrant local ecosystem has undeniably developed, driving commerce and keeping farmers heavily engaged in the monsoon harvest.
Yet a critical element is still missing to scale up Asia's largest floating guava market. There is still no public or private investment in cold storage or agro-based industries.
Without them, seasonal gluts cannot be preserved, and excess fruit cannot be processed into value-added products such as juices, pickles, jams, jellies or marmalades.
According to official agricultural statistics, the southwestern trio of Barisal, Jhalakathi, and Pirojpur collectively produces one-third of Bangladesh's annual hog plum output (46,000 tons) and one-sixth of its total guava output (266,000 tons). Despite these high volumes, farmers rarely secure fair prices.
“At times, the fruit simply rots and goes to waste due to sudden drops in demand and a lack of proper marketing channels,” a local farmer said. He directly attributes their inability to optimize profits to the absence of preservation facilities and agro-industries.
This week's visit was a stark reminder of the assurances made by those two senior ministers back in 2017 regarding policy support for southwestern farm-based industries.
If those promises are to be salvaged from sounding hollow, now is the best time for policy-makers to align farmers and investors with the true potential of a prosperous Barisal.
