A thriving banana trade in Gaibandha is transforming rural livelihoods, helping farmers achieve financial self-reliance and creating employment opportunities for hundreds of people. Bananas grown in the district are transported from its largest wholesale market in North Bengal to Dhaka and other parts of the country.
Located beside the Dhaka-Rangpur highway at Dakshin Bandar in Palashbari upazila, the bustling wholesale market has emerged as a major trading hub for bananas produced in Gaibandha and neighbouring districts.
Operating twice a week, on Saturdays and Wednesdays, the market sees transactions worth around Tk5 lakh in raw bananas during each session, with wholesalers transporting the produce to Dhaka and other destinations.
Favourable soil conditions, a suitable climate and consistently good yields have made banana cultivation an increasingly attractive option for farmers in the district.
Gobindaganj, Palashbari and Sadullapur upazilas are particularly suitable for banana cultivation. The crop not only meets local demand but also supplies markets across the country, creating steady business opportunities for farmers, traders, transport workers and labourers.
Farmers said banana cultivation was more profitable and required relatively lower investment than many other crops, encouraging more people to take it up.
Muslim Uddin, a banana grower from Merirhat in Palashbari, said lower production costs and higher profits compared with other crops had encouraged many local farmers to embrace banana cultivation.
Aijal Mia, a farmer from Komarpur in Gobindaganj, said the annual production cost of bananas on one bigha of land was around Tk20,000, while the produce could fetch between Tk1.5 lakh and Tk2 lakh.
He said banana farming involved fewer complications than many other crops, although strong winds sometimes posed a risk to the plants.
The growing profitability is evident at Dakshin Bandar market, where rows of freshly harvested banana bunches attract farmers and wholesalers from different areas. From morning until afternoon, farmers arrive with their produce on vans, while traders bargain to secure supplies for markets across the country.
Kajol Ahmed, a farmer from Dhaperhat in Sadullapur, said he had cultivated bananas on two bighas of land this season. He had already sold banana bunches worth Tk1 lakh at the market and expected to earn more than Tk2 lakh from the remaining harvest.
Another farmer, Nazrul Islam, said he had cultivated bananas on two and a half bighas of land and sold each bunch for Tk470. Given the satisfactory yield and prevailing market prices, he expected total sales of around Tk3 lakh.
The flourishing trade is also attracting wholesalers from outside the district.
Md Abdus Samad, a banana trader from Dhaka, said good-quality bananas fetched higher prices. He visits different wholesale banana markets across the northern region to purchase produce and transports it to Dhaka by truck.
The market has also created income opportunities for local labourers. Md Shawon Prodhan, a worker at Dakshin Bandar market, said a labourer could earn Tk1,000 to Tk1,200 a day by loading bananas onto trucks.
Md Asaduzzaman, acting deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Gaibandha, said bananas had been cultivated on 940 hectares of land across the district’s seven upazilas during the current season.
The district had witnessed a bumper harvest this year, and farmers were happy with the satisfactory prices they were receiving for their produce, he added.
With cultivation expanding, market demand remaining strong and a well-established distribution network in place, banana farming is increasingly emerging as a promising source of rural income in Gaibandha, connecting local farmers with consumers far beyond the district.
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