Bangladesh’s rise as a major fruit-producing nation has been underpinned by research and genetic conservation, much of it centred at the Germplasm Centre of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU).
Over two decades, fruit cultivation has shifted from small homestead plots to large-scale commercial orchards and rooftop gardens, driving what many describe as a silent revolution in production.
Yet the BAU Germplasm Centre, a key institution behind that transformation, is now grappling with financial constraints.
No new germplasm has been collected in the past four to five years, research has slowed sharply and there are currently no enrolled students, including at doctoral level. Once regarded as Asia’s largest germplasm facility, parts of the centre have deteriorated physically.
Bangladesh is now among the world’s top 10 tropical fruit producers, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Over the past 18 years, fruit production has grown at an average annual rate of 11.5 per cent. Per capita fruit consumption rose from 55 grams in 2006 to 85 grams in 2018.
Between the 2013-14 and 2021-22 fiscal years, output of mango, papaya, guava, banana and watermelon increased markedly. FAO data rank Bangladesh second in jackfruit production, seventh in mango, eighth in guava and fourteenth in papaya.
Cultivation of jamun, litchi, jujube, starfruit, wood apple, lemon, pineapple, lotkon, custard apple and sapodilla has also expanded, alongside newer crops such as strawberry, dragon fruit and malta.
Department of Agricultural Extension figures show fruit cultivation expanded from 474,000 hectares in 2006-07, producing 8.786 million metric tonnes, to 734,000 hectares and 14.3 million metric tonnes in 2021-22. The number of cultivated fruit species has risen from 56 to 72 over the past decade.
Researchers attribute this progress to fruit scientists and extension workers who developed and distributed improved varieties. A central figure is Professor M A Rahim, a retired horticulture academic who founded the BAU Germplasm Centre in 1991 on one acre of land. He argued that while staple foods could be imported, nutrition for millions could not, and began collecting and conserving fruit germplasm with colleague Md Azizul Haque.
The centre has since expanded to 32 acres and now preserves 11,528 germplasm accessions across 210 fruit species. Around 80 per cent were collected from Bangladesh’s hills, coasts and forests. Rahim also visited about 60 countries to collect seeds and plant materials. The facility is now considered the country’s largest fruit germplasm repository and the second largest globally.
Its holdings include 1,858 mango accessions, 65 litchi, 1,160 guava, 669 citrus, 105 jackfruit and 1,218 underutilised fruit types, as well as 1,925 foreign fruit accessions and 1,014 medicinal fruit species. The collection ranges from common local crops to foreign species such as avocado, olive, rambutan, persimmon, plum, mangosteen, snake fruit, dragon fruit, grape and orange.
The centre has developed 123 fruit varieties approved by the government, including 25 mango, one jackfruit, five litchi and 10 guava varieties. Among them are seedless guava, seedless gab fruit, sweet starfruit and a tri-fruited mango. Research at the centre has resulted in 42 PhD and 250 MSc degrees, and Rahim has received 60 national and international awards.
The first released variety, ‘BAU Kul-1’, is cultivated on nearly 60,000 hectares, producing about 1.5 million tonnes of jujube annually and gaining popularity in India. Other introductions include ‘Balsundari Kul’, ‘BAU Dragon Fruit-1’, ‘BAU Dragon Fruit-2’ and ‘BAU Mango-14’, known as Banana Mango. Newer varieties ‘BAU Mango-23’ and ‘BAU Mango-24’, each weighing 1.5 to 2 kilograms, are emerging.
Field Supervisor Md Mahbubur Rahman Manik said many farmers have improved their livelihoods through these varieties.
Director Professor Dr Tamanna Haque, who assumed charge two months ago, said a two-year project under the Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System is ongoing with an annual allocation of Tk400,000. She acknowledged funding shortages and slow research but said efforts would be made to expand germplasm collection.
The centre continues to host postgraduate research, with 104 MSc and 12 PhD studies completed there. Training and biodiversity workshops are organised regularly. Annual income from sapling sales and related activities reportedly ranges between Tk1.2 million and Tk1.5 million, deposited into the university fund.
