CUTTACK: Strawberry plants heavy with fruit now line fields in Banki of Cuttack district. The fruits are ready for harvest and the farmers who have made this possible in the hot and humid climate of Banki and Dampada blocks are beaming pink in anticipation of the rewards.
The three Santosh Nayak (46) and Sachidananda Gocchayat (50) of Pathapur in Dampada block along with Sarat Kumar Khatua (52) of Gahiragada in Banki block have not only scripted a success story but also opened a promising chapter in the district’s agricultural landscape.
The turn for their experiment though, began with their long struggle for sustenance with their low-lying farmlands that would remain inundated for long periods during monsoon year after year. After incurring huge losses in cultivating paddy, groundnut, sugarcane, marigold flower and other vegetables repeatedly, they made up their mind to switch to some innovative farming from the traditional ones. At this point, they came in contact with officials of horticulture department.
They motivated the farmer trio to take up strawberry cultivation. At first, the three were not convinced with the proposal because it is basically a fruit of cold, temperate origin. But the officials assured to provide all kinds of support following which they agreed. While Sarat and Santosh have taken up strawberry farming in one acre of land each, Sachidananda , a latecomer, experimented in half acre.
The results surprised them all as it was a huge success. Their farms bore healthy plants laden with the fruits, not only bringing them better income prospects but also turned them into innovators. People from nearby and faraway areas are flocking to their farms to have a glimpse their strawberry crops.
“When we took up strawberry farming, we were mocked. The neighbouring farmers laughed at us terming our activities foolish. But now they are stunned to see our harvest” said Sarat, who plucked 45 kg strawberries on Saturday.
Sarat said that they are selling a packet containing 250 gm strawberry at Rs 80 to fruit traders of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. He expects sale proceeds to cross Rs 25,000 per day in coming few days.
Rabindra Rout, a fruit vendor from Cuttack’s Bidyadharpur said, instead of depending on the supply from outside, they are now able to procure fresh strawberry from Banki and Dampada. This saves them both transportation costs and time, which naturally ensures more fresh fruits at lower costs for customers.
“We had no idea on strawberry farming. Our initial harvest was between 5-10 kg, but it is gradually increasing. We are strictly following the advice of the horticulture officials like using drip irrigation method and application of natural fertlisers that make our strawberries sweet and bigger in size,” they said.
Seeing the success of the three farmers, others in the region have begun to show interest to grow the fruit in their farmlands. “We explained details about the innovative cultivation techniques and the government support following which they showed interest and the local climate has proven to be conducive for strawberry farming, facilitating harvest in just two months,” said assistant director, horticulture, Suchona Swastica.
“We provided required training on farming techniques and technical support including land preparation, raised bed, drip irrigation system and polythene mulching which are crucial for maintaining soil moisture, weed control, keeping fruits clean and regulating temperature,” said Swastica.
While land was prepared in between October and November, saplings were transplanted in last week of November. Sarat and Santosh started harvesting from January 15 while Sachidananda who took up cultivation a bit late has started harvesting from Friday, she added.
“The strawberry farming was carried out on pilot project basis for performance study under Special Horticultural Crop Specific Scheme with subsidy of Rs 12,27,610 per hectare. The planting material in sapling form procured from Himachal Pradesh is being provided by Odisha State Seeds Corporation Ltd (OSSCL). We are paying Rs 12.30 per sapling to OSSCL and the rest amount of subsidy money is being transferred to the farmers’ bank account through DBT,” she said.
The department is now aiming to expand the area of the fruit crop in the blocks, she added.