Phulbani: Dragon fruit cultivation has come as a boon for farmers in the tribal-dominated Kandhamal district who had given up farming and opted to work as bonded labourers in other states due to a lack of profit. The high-value cash-rich crop has transformed the lives of farmers who were illegally growing ganja.
With no other source of income in rural areas, the farmers were forced to work as labourers or grow ganja for livelihood. However, dragon fruit cultivation has come as a blessing for the farmers who are earning lakhs now and have become self-independent.
“ITDA gave us training and helped us understand dragon fruit cultivation. As per their directions, we started dragon fruit farming and it has made us self-independent. While the initial harvest was less than expected, the produce is growing by the years,” said farmer Kaindra Kanhar.
Another farmer Belar Kanhar said, “Last year, we had only 50kg produce. However, this year it has increased to 3.50 quintal. We are expecting to harvest another 1 quintal before the end of this year. We are happy that our hard work is finally paying off.”
Two years ago, a five-acre patch of land in Betaketa, a remote village in Maoist-infested Phiringia block was lying barren due to lack of irrigation. On the directives of the District Collector, ITDA intervened and gave necessary training and assistance to the farmers for dragon fruit farming.
Now, the landscape is full of dragon fruits that have given a new lease of life to several farmers in the area. It was initially started as a pilot project and has turned out to be a success. Now, the district administration aims to spread dragon fruit cultivation to other parts of the district.
“We had come shopping and saw this dragon fruit that is something new for us in Phulbani. This is very beneficial for our health and I’m happy that we are finally attempting to do something fresh and new,” said a consumer Mamata Mohanty.
P. Murli Mohan, Project Manager, ITDA said, “This has set an example for other farmers who have given up cultivation or are opting to work as migrant workers. Initially, farmers weren’t showing much interest, but now when they earned profits, they are showing interest.”
Goes Global
Few days back, four quintals of the fruit grown in Patnagarh of Balangir district, were exported for the first time from Odisha to Dubai from Biju Patnaik International Airport cargo terminal in Bhubaneswar.
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