A tribal farmer in Maharashtra, Ramesh Bhiva Bangar is reaping exceptional earnings through cultivating strawberries – a fruit that he had by no means even tasted previous.
Positioned just about 90 km from Pune, the tribal hamlet of Kopre in Junnar is suffering with the depletion of its herbal water reserves. The citizens now depend on water tankers to fulfil their day by day water necessities. As a result, cultivating conventional vegetation, comparable to paddy and wheat, has turn into a powerful problem for farmers on this water-scarce area.
Curiously, a shift to a brand new crop has introduced sure results for one of the vital forward-thinking farmers within the village. Closing September, Ramesh Bhiva Bangar became to cultivating strawberries — a fruit that he had by no means tasted till he cultivated some on his farm!
Inside a few months, he went from incomes Rs 4,000 to Rs 2 lakh in step with season. His luck has turn into exemplary for masses of farmers and agricultural officials who flock to his farm on a daily basis.
In dialog with The Higher India, the tribal farmer finds how he harvested exceptional earnings.
My father feared I would possibly finish my lifestyles
Born and taken up within the tribal-dominated Kopra village of Maharashtra, Ramesh may just best learn about until Elegance 10. After finishing his education in 2006, he joined an area faculty as a peon. After operating within the faculty for 2 years, he took up ordinary jobs like riding a pickup car sooner than turning to his circle of relatives paintings of farming.
The circle of relatives owns 22 acres of land however utilises best two to a few acres for cultivation owing to a loss of irrigation sources. So after cultivating paddy in Kharif season, Ramesh can be compelled to transport out to close by villages for day by day jobs that might earn him Rs 350 an afternoon.
“I sought after to spice up our family source of revenue with out leaving my village. Additionally, I didn’t wish to slog like my father and grandfather, realizing that my arduous paintings would no longer yield just right earnings,” he stocks.
However Ramesh didn’t know some way round it till he met his maternal uncle remaining 12 months. “He prompt I go for a brand new more or less crop like strawberry for the reason that my hilly village has Mahabaleshwar-like climate, which is acceptable for rising strawberries,” provides the 35-year-old farmer.
In a bid to arrange the sector for a brand new crop, he borrowed Rs 50,000 from his uncle and acquired 4,800 saplings that price him Rs 10 every. He returned to the village and began ploughing the sector.
“My father was once very unsure of my resolution. He was once frightened that I’d fail to domesticate this new crop. And if I failed, then how would I pay off the mortgage quantity? He feared that I would possibly flip to taking my lifestyles like different farmers within the drought-prone areas,” he says.
However with out dropping any hope, Ramesh ready the beds, planted all 4,800 saplings in 10 guntha land [40 gunthas make 1 acre], and carried out straw mulch over small strawberry vegetation to retain the soil moisture.
Each and every 10th day as he irrigated his crop, native other people mocked him. “I didn’t take any coaching from any person. So, on every occasion I’d inform those who I used to be cultivating strawberries, they might mock me and label me mad and loopy,” he says.
In the meantime, as an alternative of depending on any chemical fertilisers, he used cow dung, buttermilk, and curd that, he says, act as just right fertilisers and fungicides.
Greater than a month went through, however there was once no fruit. “Everybody doubted me, however I was hoping to look no less than one fruit in my box,” he says.
Tasting strawberries and luck for the primary time
Ramesh in spite of everything laid eyes at the first strawberry on his farm after 45 days (November-end).
“My pleasure knew no bounds. I presented the primary fruit to my son. He was once so satisfied that he ran to his buddies, proudly flaunting the strawberry whilst telling them how his papa had grown a brand new more or less fruit. Regardless of how a lot I earn, that happiness was once beneficial for me. Cultivating strawberries changed into a proud second of my lifestyles,” he stocks with pleasure.
“And this was once additionally the primary time in my lifestyles that I tasted strawberries. Previous, I may just no longer manage to pay for to shop for this unique fruit by myself,” he provides.
Each day, Ramesh harvests no less than 20 kg of the fruit and sells it to the native marketplace. Priced between Rs 30 and Rs 50, he manages to earn Rs 3,000 an afternoon. Lately, he has additionally discovered consumers from close by villages in Junnar and the Pune district.
“The primary day, after I took my produce to the marketplace, other people checked out me unusually and threw a number of questions at me. As I come from a small tribal village and I used to be new out there, no person knew me,” he says.
“However seeing me be successful up to now couple of months, they now come to me and inquire about my method and the way I accomplished luck. Now, after I consult with the marketplace, they vacate area for me and contact me seth ji [a wealthy merchant]. However this doesn’t fascinate me,” he stocks.
“Strawberries have helped me determine an identification for myself and a chance to make my circle of relatives proud. That is all that issues,” provides Ramesh, who now targets to make bigger strawberry cultivation to 4 occasions the existing farmland.
Edited through Pranita Bhat; All pictures: Ramesh Bhiva Bangar.