A good number of farmers in Rajshahi are delighted over cultivating and harvesting chemical-free tomato.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) of the district has provided all the necessary agricultural and technical inputs among the farmers.
Ziarul Islam, a farmer of Ishwaripur village said he has cultivated two hybrid varieties of tomato on one and half bighas of land spending Taka one lakh.
In last two weeks, he sold tomato worth Taka 20,000 and Wholesalers as well as retailers are buying the tomatoes from his land at Taka 40 per kilogram.
Platform cultivated tomato has a demand as it becomes matured on plant and there is no need of using any chemical for ripening, he said.
Witnessing the success of Ziarul, many farmers have cultivated the cash crop using the modern technology, says a BSS report.
According to the local traders, a maund of tomato is being sold at Taka 2,500 to Taka 3,000 in the wholesale market, but its price will come down to Taka 100 per maund at the end of this season.
Mustafizur Rahman, additional director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Rajshahi, said tomato farming is gaining popularity in the region, particularly in the vast tract of Barind area.
The soil and climatic condition of the entire region, including Rajshahi, Natore, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj, are very suitable for tomato cultivation, said Dr Shakhawat Hossain, senior scientific officer of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI).
He said BARI developed 10 high-yielding and quality varieties of tomatoes and it has been implementing special programmes to promote the crop among the growers through arranging farmers' training and demonstration plots in different areas.