Gujarat's Dang Farmers Swap Millet for Strawberries, See Incomes Soar

For bringing this change, they are not hesitant to bring a turnaround in the way they pursue farming.

In Gujarat's Dang district, farmers have made a conscious choice of shifting from growing conventional crops to income-boosting produce. And, this has been augmented by monetary support from the state administration.

Jignesh Bhoi, a tribal youth from the Dang district, is in the spotlight for picking modern farming techniques over traditional farming methods.

Being a school dropout, he took advantage of the government schemes to start modern strawberry cultivation, and today he is earning a handsome income. His quick success has also spurred other farmers in the village to adopt this route and turn to strawberry cultivation, with the administration's support.

In the Dang district, surrounded by mountains, traditional crops like finger millet, sorghum, barnyard millet, and rice have been cultivated for years. But now, the farmers are shifting towards modern farming.

Jignesh Bhoi, a resident of the remote village of Motamalunga in the Dang district, was among the first ones to experiment with modern practices and achieve success.

He deserves the credit for bringing this significant change to the village. He first contacted the horticulture officer, learned about government subsidy schemes, and then started cultivating strawberries.

For the past four to five years, he has been cultivating strawberries, tomatoes, and white musli using modern methods. Initially, he cultivated a small plot, but today he manages a plantation on two acres of land, from which he earns earning annual income running in lakhs.

He says that the government is providing a 75 per cent subsidy on plants, 75 per cent on mulching paper, and 75 per cent on drip irrigation for strawberry cultivation.

For marketing his strawberries, he sends his produce to local markets in Ahwa and Saputara and also to wholesale markets in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot.

- IANS