United News of Bangladesh

Two agri-entrepreneurs in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram have achieved notable success cultivating a foreign variety of red grapes, drawing widespread attention and inspiring local farmers to explore new possibilities. Ruhul Amin and Hashem Ali have developed a vineyard of the ‘Bainur’ variety on about two bighas of land in Ajoyatari area near Gongarhat Bazar after nearly a decade of effort. The orchard now hosts around 460 grapevines. They said they began their journey in 2017 with just 40 saplings. While the initial yields were experimental, they started commercial sales in 2022, selling about five maunds of grapes from 50 plants that year. Production has since increased steadily — reaching 10 maunds in 2023, 15 maunds in 2024, and 20 maunds in 2025.