: Jammu Farmer Boosts Income 40 Times by Choosing Organic Strawberries Over Wheat #IndiaNEWS #Kashmir In Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur District’s Kooh Village, which has a population of over 2,100,

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Jammu Farmer Boosts Income 40 Times by Choosing Organic Strawberries Over Wheat #IndiaNEWS #Kashmir
In Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur District’s Kooh Village, which has a population of over 2,100, most farmers grow traditional wheat and maize crops as the area is by and large rainfed. Since most Kooh farmers have milch animals in their houses, they primarily use the animals’ dung as a crop booster. A few farmers also use urea in their fields.
However, until 2020, farmers of the village would hesitate to grow unconventional crops like flowers, fruits, grasses, mushrooms and oil crops, simply because no one had ever dared to do innovations with traditional agriculture.
But it was in September 2020 that Rashpal Singh, son of Tarlok Singh of Kooh Panchayat, who owns several Kanals (1Kanal=5,445 square feet) of plain agricultural land, was told about the scope of growing organic strawberries by one Vikas Sharma of his village, who works as a technician with Jammu and Kashmir Horticulture Department.
Rashpal Singh with the harvested strawberry crop.
The department provides Rs 13,000 subsidy per Kanal of agricultural land to the farmers to grow fruit crops. Accordingly, Rashpal completed his file in all respects and applied for a subsidy.
In November 2020, Singh’s project got a sanction from the Jammu and Kashmir Government and in December last year, the Horticulture Department officials helped him plant around 22,500 strawberry runners over his 10 Marlas of agricultural land (10 Marlas=half kanal). As per the departmental standards, some 45,000 runners are sown over one Kanal.
“Since the crop was new to our fields, I too had doubts about it giving proper dividends. But then I took the risk because growing wheat crop on 10 Marlas of land until 2020 was paying me only Rs 1,000,� Rashpal says, adding, “Losing Rs 1,000 crop was not a big deal. �
Rashpal spent just Rs 7,000 for purchasing the mulch to cover up his strawberry crop so that it is protected from unwanted weeds, pests and insects. Mulch also helps in water retention. Around Rs 1,000 would have been spent on purchasing the pesticides and spray pumps. Another Rs 2,000 were spent on the purchase of punnets later at the time of the crop sale.
Vikas elaborates that at the time of sowing of runners, farmyard manure is applied to the saplings. Later, vermicompost is applied to the plants through the holes made up in the mulch. “Mulch only protects the plants from unwanted weed and fruits from getting buried in the soil,� he says.
Mulch covered strawberry crop.
In March, Rashpal says, his strawberry runners started bearing flowers and fruits. “Initially, we sold our produce in Udhampur’s fruit and vegetable mandis. But there we were getting only Rs 15-20 per raw packet of the ripe strawberries, from the ‘Aadtis’ (middlemen).

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