Bhopal, 2 July :Farmers are nowadays getting better money for their crops by shedding traditional methods of farming and going in for growing flower-bearing plants, vegetables and medicinal plants. Jagdish Singh, son of Ratirag Kushwah is a living example of this pleasant change.He is a resident of village Magrani in Narwar development block of Shivpuri district. The joint family of Jagdish Singh and his elder brother Ram Sewak Singh has 15 bighas of land on which they used to sow traditional crops like wheat, maze, millet etc. But these crops could suffice only food grains requirements of the joint family. One day, Shri Jagdish met Narwar’s Horticulture Officer Shri Vinod Kumar Pathak and expressed his desire to grow vegetables and flower-bearing & medicinal plants on his land.
Shri Pathak informed him that the Horticulture Department gives subsidy on growing vegetables and flower-bearing & medicinal plants and one can take advantage of this scheme to grow more profitable crops. Shri Jagdish agreed to do so and was given saplings of marigold, rose, Rajnigandha (tuberose) etc. costing Rs 3 thousand under ‘Pushp Vikas Pradarshan Karyakaram’ and seeds of tomato, lady’s finger, brinjal etc at 50 per cent subsidy under ‘Sag-Bhaji Utpadan Karyakaram’. Jagdish started growing vegetables on his land.
In the meantime, he was advised by Horticulture Department officers that he can earn more profit by growing jackfruit (Kathal) and other fruit-bearing trees on his fallow land. Shri Jagdish did the same and about five years ago planted 15 trees of jackfruit and other fruit-bearing trees. Now every tree is yielding 40 kg to 2.5 quintals of jackfruits and Shri Jagdish is earning extra income of Rs 50 thousand to Rs one lakh yearly from the sale of jackfruits. In between the trees, Jagdish grew crops of wheat and vegetables. The family got wheat for their own use apart from vegetables worth Rs 25 thousand per acre. He is also employing five labourers.
Shri Jagdish says that farming can indeed become profitable if one solicits right guidance and takes optimum benefit of state government’s schemes.