With the arrival of Madhumas Jyishta, the mango orchards of Rajshahi are now waiting to be filled with the aroma of ripe mangoes. The Agriculture Department and local mango farmers are expecting a bumper mango yield and record trade in Rajshahi district this season. If the weather is favorable, officials of the District Agricultural Extension Department believe that a huge economic transaction of about 800 crore taka can be made by selling mangoes in the district this time. The Rajshahi District Agricultural Extension Department said that mangoes have been cultivated on a total of 19,062 hectares of land in Rajshahi district this year. Of this, mangoes have been cultivated on 925 hectares of land in Paba upazila. From this, 11,840 metric tons of mangoes will be produced. Mangoes have been cultivated on 521 hectares of land in Tanor upazila. Mangoes will be produced on 6,669 metric tons.

5,401 metric tons of mango will be produced on 422 hectares of land in Mohanpur Upazila. 7,036 metric tons of mango will be produced from 575 hectares in Bagmara Upazila. Mango has been cultivated on 710 hectares of land in Durgapur Upazila. From which 9,088 metric tons of mango will be produced. 19,802 metric tons of mango will be produced from 1,547 hectares of land in Puthia Upazila. Mango has been cultivated on 1,227 hectares of land in Godagari Upazila. Mango will be produced on 15,705 metric tons. 4,900 hectares in Charghat Upazila. From which 62,720 metric tons of mango will be produced. Mango has been cultivated on 8,070 lands in Bagha Upazila. From this, 1 lakh 3 thousand 296 metric tons of mango will be produced.

9 hectares in Motihar thana. 1152 metric tons of mangoes will be produced from this land and mangoes have been cultivated on 75 hectares of land in Boalia thana. 960 metric tons of mangoes will be produced from here. A total target of 2 lakh 43 thousand 993 metric tons of mangoes has been set from this mango orchard. There is a potential of 800 crore taka of trade by selling these mangoes.

This season, 19 varieties of mangoes, including Rajshahi’s famous Gopalbhog, Langra, Khirsapat (Himsagar), Fazli, Amrapali and Ashwina, have been cultivated. Talking to some mango growers, especially in Bagha, Charghat and Puthia areas of the district, it is learnt that the recent light rains after the intense heatwave a few days ago have helped the mango seeds to harden and grow quickly.

Farmers are now busy day and night with last-minute care and orchard maintenance. Although according to the mango calendar, mangoes have started to be planted with small mangoes since the last 15 days. No other mangoes are seen in the market except small mangoes.

A mango farmer named Rahim from Paba Upazila said, “This time, some mangoes have fallen due to the sun in the beginning. Even then, if the amount of mangoes that are available can be sold properly, we will see a profit.” Saimum, a mango farmer from Tanor Upazila, said, “The mangoes in this region are very tasty. I hope the mango business will be good this time. Everyone will benefit.”

Rajshahi’s economy is mainly mango-centric. Every year from May to August, a festive atmosphere is created in the entire district around mangoes. Not only the sale of mangoes, but also the related plastic basket and bamboo basket making, courier services, transportation sector and the employment of thousands of daily laborers give a huge boost to the economy of this region.

To keep this huge mango market safe and smooth, like every year, the district administration is preparing to set a special ‘mango calendar’ or mango harvesting schedule so that consumers can get completely poison-free and ripe mangoes. Agriculture officials believe that unless there is a major natural disaster or Kalbaisakhi storm, this target of 800 crore taka will be easily exceeded and farmers will get the right price for their produce.

Papia Rahman Maury, Additional Deputy Director (Horticulture) of Rajshahi Department of Agriculture Extension, told BSS that mangoes have been cultivated on a total of 19,062 hectares of land in Rajshahi district this year. A total target of 2,43,993 metric tons of mango production has been set from mango orchards. There is a potential for a trade of about 800 crore taka by selling mangoes. Hopefully, if the weather is good, the farmers will get good prices for mangoes. This will boost the economy of this region.