Farmers preparing to collect date palm juice in Lalmonirhat
Lalmonirhat, October 27, 2025 : Although the atmosphere of winter has not yet fully set in, preparations for the collection of date palm juice have begun in Lalmonirhat. The busyness of the date palm growers in various areas of the district is now at its peak.
Their family survives for about five months by collecting sap from trees and selling jaggery.
According to local sources, the arrival of winter is heralded in rural towns through the extraction of date palm juice.
Currently, the work of clearing, cleaning and installing pipes is underway. After a few days, when the winter intensity increases, the season of extracting the delicious juice by cutting the chests of date palm trees will begin. Temporary bases for the sappers have already been set up in areas where there are more date palm trees. Alternative fuel is being collected in advance to make molasses from the juice.
Meanwhile, the District Agriculture Department said that there are about five hectares of land with date palm trees scattered in different areas of Lalmonirhat. Occasionally, one or two date palm trees can be seen in the courtyards of village houses, on the roadsides, or next to crop fields, which still carry the tradition of rural life.
Biplob Chandra Roy, Rezaul Karim and Aminul Hossain, residents of Baliram village in Barabari union of the district headquarters, said that they have two to three date palm trees each in their house. But most of the trees are lying unused due to lack of tree-keepers. They claim that if the initiative is taken to train the young generation as tree-keepers with the help of experienced tree-keepers, the amount of sap extraction and jaggery production will increase significantly.
Therefore, they called for effective government action in this sector.
Tarejamal Uddin, an experienced palm tree grower from Teestapar, said, "I go to Lalmonirhat, Rajarhat in Kurigram and surrounding areas where there are many palm trees during the season. I buy trees from the owners for the season. Later, I collect the sap and sell it with my people."
He further said, "First, the golden part of the tree's top is cut with a knife. After 8 to 10 days, a tube is inserted there. Then, in about a week, the sweet sap starts to flow. Now, we are busy preparing for that."
According to Tarejamal Uddin, the number of trees is decreasing day by day due to the decline in the number of trees and the disinterest of the younger generation in agricultural work. As a result, many trees are remaining unused.
Jahangir Hossain, a palm farmer from the same area, said that the current generation does not want to learn the techniques of collecting date juice.
They are all city-oriented, busy with studies and jobs. If the government provided training and incentives, new farms would be created and the rural economy would become stronger.
Another tree farmer, Ramzan Ali, said, "I and three others will be able to cut more than 200 trees this season. Since there are few trees in the area, many are bringing people from outside districts to work. If the number of trees increased, we could make more profit by producing juice and jaggery."
Deputy Director of Lalmonirhat District Agricultural Extension Department Dr. Md. Saikhul Arifin said that the role of date palm trees is very important in maintaining the balance of nature.
Date juice and jaggery are an integral part of our rural heritage.
He further said, "Currently, there are not many date palm trees in Lalmonirhat. However, if the trees that are there are taken care of properly and new seeds are sown, it is possible to significantly increase the amount of juice extraction and molasses production. To this end, in the future, we will pay attention to date palm trees as well as palm trees."
0 Comments