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| Cultivation and processing of aromatic plants doubles incomes of farmers in Himachal |
New Delhi (Lisbon Times):- Farmers in the Chamba
district of Himachal Pradesh, keen for new livelihood options to supplement
their income from traditional crops like maize, paddy, and wheat, have
found a new lease of life.
Cultivation of aromatic
plants have given them
additional income. They have extracted essential oil from the improved variety
of wild marigold (Tagetes minuta) that has been
introduced, and the profit from wild marigold oil has doubled the income of
farmers as compared to traditional maize, wheat, and paddy crops.
The improvement in the fortune of the farmers has been brought about through interventions made
by Society for Technology and Development (STD), Mandi Core Support
group, SEED Division, DST. STD initiated cultivation and processing of
aromatic plants (wild marigold, improved variety of IHBT) involving the farming a community in technical collaboration with IHBT-CSIR, Palampur, in
Parawai village, Bhatiyat Block in Chamba, an Aspirational District.
A self-help group (SHG)
consisting of 40 farmers called Green Valley Kissan Sabha Parwai has been
formed and linked to Himachal Gramin Bank, Parchhod, for further financial
help. A distillation unit of 250 kg capacity was installed at Parwai village
and farmers trained into agro-technology of wild marigold, extraction of oil,
packing, and storage of oil started cultivating wild marigold and distilling
oil from it. The extracted oil is being sold at Rs. 9500/kg and used in
preparing perfumes and essences by pharmaceutical industries. The
income of farmers was around Rs. 40,000-50,000 per hectare from
traditional crops have increased to about Rs. 1,00,000 per hectare by
cultivation and extraction of wild marigold oil.
In another initiative,
farmers have improved pollination by adopting mud hive beekeeping
technology which has enhanced apple production resulting in an
increase in the income of apple growers 1.25 times. Society
for farmers Development, Talhar, District Mandi under TIME-LEARN program of
SEED Division, DST in technical collaboration with Dr.
Y.S.Parmar UHF, Regional Horticultural Research Station (RHRS) Bajaura,
introduced this technology for indigenous bees (Apis cerena) in
Jawalapur village, Balichoki Block of Distt. Mandi H.P. A total of 45 farmers
was involved, and 80 mud hives fabricated by trained farmers were put in their
apple orchards, covering a total of 20 hectares in 6 villages.
Mud Hive Technology is
a combination of wall hive & wooden hive technology, with a habitat like a wall hive. It has inbuilt provision for putting frames inside the mud hive and
more favorable conditions, especially temperature for bees throughout the year
as compared to wooden hives.
The technology has
brought about better colony growth & less swarming as compared to earlier
used wooden boxes because of the favorable conditions they created. The introduction of indigenous bees, which can survive better in the apple growing
areas, to replace the Italian bees through this technology has helped increase
the average productivity of apple orchards by around 25 percent. In existing
mud hives, provisions for easy cleaning inside mud hive were introduced by
putting aluminum sheets at the base of the mud hive. This sheet is sealed with cow
dung paste and can be removed for cleaning without opening the mud hive. The
rooftop of the mud hive was also made up of a stone slate, which gives better
protection and maintains a favorable temperature inside the mud hive. The technology
has also helped in the extraction of honey in a hygienic manner using honey
extractors as in wooden boxes and introduced better management practices, such
as feeding, inspection, union, and division of colonies as compared to
traditional wall hives.
A common facility
center (CFC) has been established in the village, and farmers have been trained
in processing and packing honey. They are also selling honey at Rs. 500-600/kg
at the local level.
The need-based S&T interventions have helped farmers of Chamba, an aspirational district, and Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh taste new options of livelihood and dream for a better life.
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