Agricultural entrepreneur Saidur Rahman Sona has found major success growing royal-variety papaya sourced from Singair in Manikganj, on his farm in Kushtia’s Daulatpur upazila. Investing just 32,000 taka, he has so far sold papaya worth 20.75 lakh taka. His success with this year-round papaya cultivation has drawn wide attention in the area.
Saidur Rahman Sona, 47, is the son of the late Mashiur Rahman Master of Chuyamallikpara village in Daulatpur upazila. A former migrant worker in Singapore, the young entrepreneur has now turned his focus to farming. His 10-bigha papaya orchard has become the centre of attention for people in the area. Every tree in the orchard is heavy with clusters of papaya. He says each tree yields an average of about one maund of papaya.
Saidur Rahman said he collected 10 maunds of ripe royal-variety papaya seeds from Singair in Manikganj last October. Buying the seeds at 80 taka per kilogram cost him 32,000 taka. Including labour and other subsequent costs, his income from selling papaya through this September has reached 20.75 lakh taka.
“While everyone else was growing conventional vegetables, I decided to start a papaya orchard on the advice of officials at the Daulatpur upazila agriculture office,” he said. “Between buying seeds and labour costs, I spent 32,000 taka from my own pocket at the start. I never imagined this papaya farming would turn out this well.”
While local farmers were busy growing conventional vegetables, Saidur took a different approach and turned to royal-variety papaya. With advice from agriculture officials and regular care, he built up a 10-bigha orchard, which is now laden with papaya across every tree.
Md Abdul Mannan, Daulatpur upazila’s sub-assistant agriculture officer, said: “The soil in Daulatpur is naturally fertile. If farmers can select the right variety, good yields are possible. Saidur Rahman made the right decision at the right time. We continue to provide necessary advice on behalf of the agriculture department.”
Md Abu Siddique, sub-assistant agriculture officer for Daulatkhali block, said demand for Manikganj’s royal-variety papaya is rising among farmers because a single planting yields fruit multiple times. Following Saidur Rahman’s success, cultivation of this variety is spreading to various parts of Kushtia.
He added that the royal variety is high-yielding and disease-resistant. Each tree produces more than 30 to 40 kilograms of papaya, and getting multiple harvests from a single planting is one of the variety’s key advantages.
Young agricultural entrepreneur Abul Bashar said: “Saidur Rahman’s success is not just his own — it’s a bright example of modern agriculture. Many unemployed youth and farmers are now dreaming of becoming self-reliant in farming, following the path he has shown.”