Commercial farming of BARI Multa-1 a new devised of horticulture research centre of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) has gaining popularity among the people of the district due to its economic prospect.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office, sources said BARI Multa-1 an extra-ordinary produced from sweet orange (Citrus Sinensis)) of horticulture research centre of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute first introduced in 2003.

Deputy Director (DD) of DAE Shovan Kumar Dhar said after getting successful result in experimental basis a number of farmers specially educated youths in Shibpur and Belabo upazilas of the district have started farming of BARI Multa-1 in their homestead garden and others high fallow lands from 2011 and they are at present getting good yield of the fruit. He said the DAE encouraged the farmers and also given them training to cultivate more BARI Multa -1 as the climate and soil of the district are suitable for it cultivation.

The DAE, Narsingdi, in the meantime distributed over 15000 high yielding and highbred plants of BARI Multa-1 to the farmers of the district collected from Joyanta of Sylhet Agriculture Research Centre, he added.

The DD also said farming of BARI Multa-1 is more profitable than other fruits. The fruit is a delicious and nutrition contains huge vitamin-c. Due to economic prospect farmers during the last eight years raised a number of orchards in all the six upazilas of the district. Some 200 saplings can be planted on per bigha of land. The tree start flowering within two years of plantation and three or four years. After flowering the tree, Multa can be harvested within three months. Each tree bears 150 to 200 Multa in a year.

BSS correspondent recently visited Shibpur upazila found that most of the farmers in different villages of the upazila cultivated BARI Multa-1 in their homestead garden and other high lands. While visiting the orchards at Sayednagor village, Jahangir Alam the owner of the orchard said he started BARI Multa-1 cultivating on 30 decimals of lands in 2011.