Vanilla, the world's costly spice, grows in the shade of a mango orchard as a Jashore farmer dreams of exports
A small mango orchard, with about 20 mango trees standing in rows. In the gaps between the trees, in dappled light and shade, grows vanilla — one of the world's most expensive spices. Vanilla pods hang in bunches from the climbing vines. Entrepreneur Md. Sarwar Hossain of Sarparajpur village in Chowgacha upazila of Jashore has succeeded in growing vanilla by using the natural shade of his mango orchard, without building an expensive shade house. Alongside dragon fruit cultivation, he has built a vanilla garden on 5 decimals of his own land, where about 150 vanilla plants are growing. The plants have begun to bear fruit.
But although the cultivation has succeeded, he cannot move forward commercially because there is no definite market or marketing system for the vanilla he produces.
Vanilla is known as the second most expensive spice in the world. Only saffron costs more. Because of its special aroma and flavour, vanilla is used in food, drinks and various processed products, and it has significant demand in the international market. A few years ago, a kilogram of vanilla sold in the global market for an average of 550 dollars, or about 50,000 taka. Later, as production of artificial vanilla increased, the price came down. The current price is around 250 dollars, or about 30,000 taka, per kilogram, although the price varies with the quality and grade of the vanilla.
Sarwar Hossain's vanilla journey began in 2019. He started experimentally with 50 saplings. Because it was a new crop, he had no experience of growing it, and 25 plants died in the first attempt. Even so, he did not give up. He collected new saplings and started again. He began with the Tyfuency variety of vanilla, and later collected Planifolia saplings from India. Through his own experience and experimentation, Sarwar gradually mastered the cultivation technique. His garden now has about 150 vanilla plants.
Sarwar Hossain said there is no place in Bangladesh where vanilla cannot grow. What is needed now is to increase production. If 100 farmers in the country are given the vanilla cuttings they need, then in four to five years, 1,000 kilograms of vanilla beans could be made ready for export. Then international buyers would start coming to Bangladesh on their own.
In many countries, shade houses are used to create a controlled environment for vanilla cultivation. But because building a shade house is expensive, Sarwar looked for an alternative. In the end, he used the natural shade of his mango orchard. His vanilla plants grow in a balance of direct sun and shade. Sarwar said excessive rain and excessive heat are risks for vanilla cultivation, so a suitable environment must be ensured. He chose the half-light, half-shade environment of his mango orchard. So far he has spent about four lakh taka on building the garden on five decimals of land. If care and production stay right, he hopes to earn up to five lakh taka a year from this garden.
But growing vanilla is not just about planting saplings. The land and the environment must be made suitable for the plants. Sarwar said each bed has to be prepared with eight kinds of materials, and only then is the vanilla stem planted there. Keeping the environment balanced is also important for the plants' growth and yield.
Al-Amin Hossain works in Sarwar's garden. In his experience, vanilla cultivation does not need heavy regular care. Watering is needed from time to time. Because little soil is used in the beds, relatively few weeds grow. Fungal attack, however, is a problem, and action has to be taken according to the condition of the plants. Al-Amin Hossain said caring for vanilla plants is not very difficult, but one must stay alert about diseases and pests. For ease of harvesting, the bark or vine of the plant is turned from above and brought down, which makes it easier to collect the fruit.
Other entrepreneurs in the area are becoming interested after seeing the vanilla fruit in Sarwar's garden. One of them is Ashikul Islam Mithun of Chowgacha. Hearing that one of the world's most expensive spices is being grown in his own upazila, he came to see the garden. Mithun said he came to see it after hearing that vanilla is being grown in his upazila, and found vanilla hanging in bunches from the plants, with a wonderful fragrance. But he cannot understand how the possibility of selling this fruit directly, or processing and marketing it, will be created. The government should work on this crop. If the agriculture department brings vanilla cultivation under modern farming and spreads it among farmers, many will become interested.
This is the biggest challenge of Sarwar's initiative. Although the cultivation method has been developed and the possibility of production created, no definite market system for vanilla has developed in the country. Without the infrastructure for selling raw fruit, processing, storage and export, commercial expansion remains uncertain.
Kishore Kumar Saha, senior agricultural marketing officer of Jashore, said there are some weaknesses in making vanilla market-ready. It is not a product that people buy from a raw market like vegetables. Vanilla has to be processed and then marketed. If any farmer contacts them on this matter, they will help arrange for the vanilla to be processed and marketed in the domestic market and, if needed, in the international market.
Sarwar's initiative has also come to the attention of the agriculture department. The Department of Agricultural Extension has learned about vanilla cultivation in Chowgacha. But because the crop is relatively new in the country, even the field-level officers of the agriculture department do not have detailed knowledge of its cultivation. For that reason, there is a plan to visit the garden in person and take the opinions of experts. Jahidul Islam Biswas, acting deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Jashore, said vanilla is a new kind of crop in the country, so they do not have detailed knowledge of its cultivation. But they have learned that a farmer named Sarwar Hossain of Chowgacha has grown vanilla. They will soon visit his garden with scientific officers, and based on their opinions, the matter of expanding this cultivation will be raised at a meeting of the regional agricultural technology extension committee.
Sarwar Hossain's initiative in a small mango orchard is now not only a story of personal success but also a sign of a new possibility in the country's agriculture. Turning that possibility into reality, however, will need scientific support for cultivation, quality saplings, processing technology and an assured market system.
The best-known use of vanilla is in the food and beverage industry. Alongside cakes, biscuits, muffins and pastries, vanilla is used in ice cream, yoghurt, custard, flavoured milk, candy, chocolate and various kinds of food. It is also used in the perfume, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. But not all vanilla-flavoured products use natural vanilla beans; artificial vanilla is also widely used. Vanillin is the main aromatic compound of vanilla, and it can also be made by industrial methods. A BBC report has said the use of artificial vanilla is widespread. So the markets for vanilla beans, natural extract and artificial vanillin have to be viewed separately. Between 95 and 99 percent of all vanilla flavour used in the world is artificial vanilla.
