Lychee cultivation helps Shakil to become financial independence

Shakil Ahmed (25) lives in Tulshipur, Dinajpur. In pursuit of financial independence and to cover educational expenses, he desired to enter agro-farming. As a student of the National University, he becomes free from March to June. This period in Dinajpur is ideal for lychee cultivation, which requires less time and promises high profits, making it the perfect choice for Shakil.

He owns 1.5 bigha of land in Tulshipur with 44 mature lychee trees. Since the land is his own, he doesn't need money for lease purposes. However, he does need to spray insecticide in the garden, with a cost of around 25,000 tk. for 44 trees in one season, specifically around 800-900 tk. per tree. Additionally, he needs to provide chemical fertilizer, costing nearly 4,000-5,000 tk. in one season. Cow dung is essential for the soil, requiring two small trucks per season, costing around 1,500 tk. The labor cost for a season is 4,000 tk. For one season of lychee cultivation, he needs to irrigate the land three times, with an irrigation cost of around 1,500 to 2,000 tk. per time.

During the harvesting of lychee, he needs to pay 200 tk. as labor cost per thousand lychee. After harvesting, he needs to use caret or khacha as a container to hold the lychee. The caret cost is 50 tk., and for khacha, it is 200 tk. However, he does not need to pay for them; the buyer who purchases the lychee bears the caret cost.

The profit from lychee cultivation depends on the yield. According to him, if he can harvest 1,00,000 lychee, the market price may be around 2,00,000 to 2,50,000 tk. The selling of lychee is mainly done in thousands, with the price per thousand varying every year. Sometimes he gets 2,300 tk. per thousand lychee, but on average, he gets 2,000 tk. Considering the price per thousand lychee as 2,000 tk., he can get 2 lakh tk. from 1 lakh lychee.

The total cost, including insecticide, chemical and organic fertilizer, irrigation, and labor (before harvest), is around 40,000 to 50,000 tk. The harvesting cost is around 20,000 tk. (considering 1 lakh lychee). So, the total cost is around 60,000 to 70,000 tk. Thus, from one season, he can generate a profit of around 1,30,000 to 1,40,000 tk.

Shakil also added that there is ample opportunity for honey cultivation during this time. However, only a few farmers engage in honey cultivation alongside lychee cultivation. If the farmers welcome honey cultivation, it will be a great chance for them to earn more money.