With grit and a dream to make it big, overseas-returnee Kawsar Ali built a Malta orchard on a one-acre plot at Godagari upazila in Rajshahi.   Returning home from abroad after 12 years, Ali put in all-out efforts in the orchard. He planted Bari Malta-1 saplings two years ago eying good return from the farming of the fruits.   Now Malta flowers have bloomed and the trees are decorated with small immature Malta.   It is expected that the fruit can be collected in the next August-September period as it takes some six months from flowering to ripen, he said.   The farmer expected a harvest of 1.6 metric tons in the upcoming season from his orchard and the Malta can be sold at Tk 100 per kilogram.   Kawsar Ali said when he returned home, he was confused about what to do. Then he became interested in farming Malta seeing many others in the locality.   He also learned that the farmers can get good return from the farming of Malta as there is high demand for the fruit in the local market. But the fruit can be harvested after three years of planting the seedlings.   He planted guava saplings in between the Malta trees in the orchard keeping in mind the cost for maintaining the orchard.   Around the garden, he started cultivating all kinds of vegetables, including banana, grapes, sweet pumpkin, onion, garlic and pepper at the same time.    Besides, various other seedlings including lemon and cardamom were planted there.   This orchard was developed some two year ago and its yearly maintenance cost is about Tk 1 lakh. But the youth has been meeting the maintenance cost as well as his family’s expenses by selling vegetables and guavas since the first year.   Noting that the first stage yield is from a short-range of Maltese trees, the farmer hoped that that Malta production would be threefold when the trees grow bigger. “So, I’ll be able to make larger profit selling Malta from my orchard in the second phase (in future),” he added.   Ali said no agricultural officer visited his orchard or gave any suggestion. He instead visited different orchards to get farming tips. Besides, if there is a problem, he turns to the internet for solution.   The young farmer said he spends most of his time at his farm.   Godagari Upazila Agriculture Officer Shafiqul Islam said there is water crisis at Godagari as it is in the Barind region. So, the farmers in this region are getting interested in farming Malta as it takes less water to get good yield with a little care.   Malta is being cultivated on 90 bighas of land in this upazila, said the agricultural officer.   “Consumers get fresh Malta as these are sold directly from the orchard to the market.  Local Malta is delicious and tastes better than the imported varieties,” he said.