Farmer shifts to horticulture crop expecting good returns

Kurnool: After incurring huge losses from the routine crops such as maize, jowar, chilly, onions, tomatoes and cotton, a farmer, K Yellappa of Marakattu village in Alur Mandal has shifted to horticulture crops on the advice of the Agriculture department.

He has planted a fine variety of papaya saplings in an extent of 2 acres out of his 16 acres own land. The crop is now 7 months old and, in a month, or so the farmer would reap its yield. K Yellappa, speaking to The Hans India said that he never had satisfactory yield as expected despite of huge investments.

“The land is of saline nature due to which the crops did not survive. Moreover, the planted crops needed abundance of water as we don’t have water facility with which half of the planted crops used to dry up and the remaining crops used to give very poor yield,” he narrated. Several times, he thought of abandoning farming by searching another source of earning. In the meantime, officials of the Agriculture department asked him to shift for horticulture crops. 

On the direction of Agriculture Officer Srinivasa Reddy, Yellappa had contacted the Horticulture officials and took their suggestion. On their advice, he purchase hybrid variety of papaya saplings from Anantapur and planted in an extent of two acres as means of experiment. “I had purchased around 2,000 saplings by investing Rs 20,000. Every plant was seen with 8 to 10 fruits with good size,” he added.

He said few number of workers are needed with less pesticides to these crops. “I dug up a farm pond in an extent of 3 acres to which I spent Rs 20 lakh. Out of my total expenditure, the government had reimbursed me Rs 14 lakh. Now, the farm pond is full of water and this water could cater the needs of other crops if taken up plantation in the remaining 11 acres of land,” he stated.

Yellappa says if the papaya crops fetch him good returns at the market then he would extend the crops in more acres. This is the first time that horticulture crop has been raised in Markata village. After seeing me raising the crop, two more farmers in Alur mandal have planted papaya crops, he said.