In Visakhapatnam in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, horticultural experts are urging farmers in the district to shift from growing coconut, mango and cashew to horticultural crops.
K Sailaja, joint director of horticulture, said recently, the district administration appointed 71 horticultural experts to visit fields and encourage farmers to grow crops such as drumsticks and curry leaves.
K Raghava, a horticulture officer from Narsipatnam, said, "Curry leaf can be planted as a mixed plantation crop in mango plantations." He further said farmers could make at least Rs 200,000 per acre per annum on an average. In the market, each kilo of curry leaf is now sold at Rs 50.
However, curry leaves cannot be easily marketed and much of the market is controlled by middlemen and commission agents, who ensure that the farmer's price is reduced. He further added that curry leaf plantations require a lot of labour input for plucking and safeguarding the crop. On the other hand, he said these plantations would do well in dry lands.
Meanwhile, K Sailaja said drumstick plantations do well in conditions where there is adequate water. There is much demand for both the sticks as well as the leaf and the root of the plant. She said drumstick trees are noted to have medicinal value, due to which they are much in demand.
The horticulture department is taking a closer look at market dynamics and focusing on plantations that can be easily exploited and provide good returns to the farming community. They are also studying the change in the urban-rural dynamics to help farmers break away from the traditional mindset.
(1 Indian Rupee=0.015USD)
