Pearl farming is increasing in three upazilas of the district as it costs low but yields high profits.
Senior Fisheries Officer of Amtali Upazila Halima Sardar said that 11 farmers in Barguna Sadar, Amtali and Patharghata upazilas in the district are farming pearl with the help of the Fisheries Department.
Freedom fighter Nurul Islam, a retired government official, succeeded in the first experimental pearl farming in the district in 2019 with advice from the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.
One of the main attractions of pearl farming is it can be done in the same pond along with fish farming. Most local fish and mussels can survive perfectly in the same water body.
Many people are interested in pearl farming because of the success of the project by setting up a demonstration farm for oyster pearl farming in ponds, Halima said.
Pearls are used in jewellery, pharmaceutical industry, cosmetics and paints formulation. Pearls are found naturally in haor and beel. If it is possible to bring it under farming on a large scale, it is possible to meet domestic demand and earn foreign exchange, Halima Sardar said.
Arjan Molla has been a pearl farmer after receiving training from Amtali and Barishal fisheries departments. He learned about it and became interested.
“I started farming with 3,500 oysters supplied by the Upazila Fisheries Office. I hope to make a profit of Taka 7 to 7.5 lakh that excluding all the expenses.”
According to the pearl farmers, quality oysters are collected from natural reservoirs and the mouths of the oysters are hollowed out and placed inside different types of ditches with a combination of oyster shell powder and two types of chemicals.
Within 7 to 8 months, the inside of the oyster becomes suitable for pearl extraction. Such open cultivation is possible in ponds and reservoirs near the house. Expenditure is also less. The produced pearls are sold for an average of Taka 1000 to 1500 each, farmers said.
Jayant Kumar Apu, Senior Fisheries Officer of Patharghata Upazila Fisheries Department, said that pearl farmers are expecting to earn crores of Taka in the district this year if the barriers to marketing are removed.
