Like every other sphere, the nursery sector has also been severely affected by the ongoing Corona pandemic situation as the sale of trees has fallen drastically amid the countrywide lockdown. In Gazipur, although the buyers are not coming to the nurseries, the nursery cannot be left unattended. So, the owners are still coming to the nurseries and continuing the service.
According to the nursery owners, tree fairs are held at district and upazila level from June to August all over the country. Many people come to the fair just to visit. Being fascinated by the beauty of the fruit and flower trees, they buy them. Thus the interest in tree planting has increased among the people. However, that interest has been cut short for the pandemic this time as national tree fair and tree planting campaign has not been held properly for the last two years due to strict restrictions.
Local nursery owners informed that the seedlings are mostly sold every year from June to August during the monsoon and the fair that is held in this season attracts the attention of the buyers. According to Gazipur Nursery Association sources, about three lakh saplings of various trees were sold there in 2019. Whereas this year, commercial nursery owners are facing huge financial losses as the fair has not been held for two consecutive years.
More than 30 nurseries are set up on both sides of the Dhaka-Kapasia road from Rajabari to Tok. On Friday morning, visiting Bhai Bhai Nursery, owned by Shariful Islam in Bhubanerchala area it was seen that many saplings of various fruits and flowers were stored in lines there.
Two of the employees of the nursery were picking up some saplings in an auto rickshaw as, Chan Mia, a youth from Rautkona village of Kreta upazila had come to buy some trees.
When asked how they were holding up, Shariful Islam sadly replied that he had sold only a few saplings that day after a gap of five days
Nursery owners are not doing well in this corona crisis. There is no tree fair for two consecutive years. Fancy people of the city used to buy trees kept in tubs for roof gardening from the fair. Moreover, despite the decline in sales, land rent and staff costs have not decreased and it takes a lot of money to collect soil for the plants, he said addingly.
Owner Arif Hossain was seen attending saplings at the Sufla Horticulture Nursery in Jamirarchar area. When asked about the sale, he said that due to the lockdown, the wealthy people of Dhaka who take more saplings of expensive trees in their houses or flats are not going out for fear of Corona. So the sales have dropped significantly.
He said that there are more than a thousand varieties of saplings in his nursery. Before the pandemic, the average daily sales were more than Tk 15,000.
On Friday afternoon, this correspondent also vsited Amraid Agro and Nursery in Kapasia upazila and talked to the owner Asaduzzaman Atiq.
Rows of different trees planted in drums were seen in the nursery causing the slender branches of many trees to bent over. This nursery has a great collection of mango, Amloki , Batabi Lebu, Jamrul, and Latkan trees.
A beautiful gathering of fruit and flower trees used to take place at the tree fair but this year that could not happen. Meanwhile, although the sales have declined, costs have not. In some cases the cost has gone up instead, he added.
In this context, the central leader of the Nursery Association, Ramzan Ali said, “Not having a tree fair is a big loss for them. In Gazipur district, saplings and trees worth Tk 1 crore were sold at fairs and nurseries in 2019. Many nursery owners who imports rare trees and saplings are in more jeopardy. Many of the owners are currently taking loans from NGOs at high interests causing them to be plagued with huge debts.
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute’s Chief Scientific Officer of the Department of Fruits Dr Babul Chandra Sarkar said everyone should be careful to avoid the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic. He added that, they are working to help the nursery owners and workers in this situation.
