Photo : BSS

RAJSHAHI, March 27, 2025 (BSS) - High-valued crops and fruit farming has been 
contributing a lot towards generating entrepreneurships among the youths in 
the region, particularly in its drought-prone Barind area.

Simultaneously, the venture has also been boosting self-confidence of many 
jobless youths through transforming them into entrepreneurs.
 
Scores of educated unemployed youths have found the path of becoming self-
reliant through establishing orchards of non-conventional but high-value 
fruits and crops. 

Sohel Rana, 35, a promising entrepreneur in Sapahar upazila headquarter in 
Naogaon, has become an icon in the field of producing high-valued and 
nutritious fruit and crops in the region.
 
 Post-graduated from the department of statistics in Rajshahi University, he 
had developed 'Rupgram Agro Farm' on 12 bighas of his paternal land at 
Rupgram village launching an integrated agriculture farm in 2015.
 
Afterwards in 2018, Rana took lease of 70 bighas of land and developed a 
modern agriculture farm named "Barendra Agro Park" on the land.
 
 He has been producing varieties of non-conventional but high-valued fruits 
and crops in safe and hygienic manner through following the 'global good 
agriculture practice' since the initial stage.
 
"I have been exporting my products in eight countries of Europe and the 
Middle east for the last two years," he added with a smiling face.
 
Sohel Rana said he received technical and input support from a project titled 
"Popularizing of High Valued Unconventional Fruit and Medicinal Crop in the 
Barind Area".
 
He has been producing fruits and crops on around 50 acres of land 
successfully giving employment to around 50 people. He has varieties of high-
valued fruits and crops, including Saudi date, avocado, persimmon, dragon, 
Alu Bukhara, coffee, mulberry, asparagus, Aloe Vera, Malta and Kaju Badam, at 
present.
 
Hassan Ali, 32, one of five promising youths, said they are dreaming of 
attaining economic emancipation through the venture as they are getting 
yields of some of the transplanted trees.
 
They have been implementing a project titled "High-valued Fruits and Crops 
Variety and Technology Expansion" on nine bighas of land at Kuchkudulia 
village under Shapaher upazila in Naogaon district for the last couple of 
years.
 
Under the project, 900 coffee, 80 avocado, 120 Taiwanese green mango and 125 
Saudi date trees were planted.
 
 In the meantime, productions of coffee, avocado and Taiwanese green mango 
have been started.
 
 "We are expecting to get yields of Saudi date within the next few days," 
Hassan Ali said, adding that they initiated the venture with financial 
support worth Taka 7.5 lakh received from Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation 
(PKSF) in the initial stage.
 
 He also expected that the venture will give them returns worth around Taka 
30 lakh every year when the production will start in full-swing within the 
next couple of years.
 
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA), the ever-largest irrigation 
providing state-owned entity in the country's northwest region, has been 
implementing the project since January, 2021.
 
ATM Rafiqul Islam, former director of the project, said as successful 
agriculture entrepreneur Sohel Rana has earned the National Youth Award by 
the President in 2021 as recognition to his laudable contribution to this 
field.
 
Apart from the aforesaid ones, many other youths have become successful 
agriculture entrepreneurs through boosting high-valued fruits and vegetables 
contributing to the society and the nation as well in multifarious ways.
 
Rafiqul Islam the five-year project is being implemented in 13 upazilas of 
Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon districts at a cost of around Taka 
17.34 crore.
 
Around 52 demonstration orchards are being generated aimed at boosting 
production of high-valued non-conventional fruits and medicinal crops through 
popularizing farming of those in the Barind area.
 
Besides, initiative has been taken to generate more orchards of the highly 
valued fruits and field crops in personal lands and homesteads of the farmers 
in the dried area.
 
To this end, 4.15 lakh saplings and 2,000 kilograms of seeds of 
nonconventional fruits and crops were distributed among the farmers free of 
cost.
 
Some 1,500 farmers and 310 officers and employees were imparted training on 
production, transplantation, nurturing and other techniques of the seedlings.
 
"We've established 22 orchards for fruits, 20 for field crops, eight for 
spices and two for beverages," he said, adding that most of the highly valued 
nonconventional fruits, field crops, spices and herbs will be brought under 
demonstration.
 
Upon successful implementation, the project is expected to contribute a lot 
to enhance the number of orchards of nonconventional fruits and medicinal 
crops.