Success in Strawberry Farming
Strawberries are thought of as a hill crop, but young farmer Navneet Shyamkishore Verma of Batama village in Betul district grew them organically in an open field and is earning more than he did from traditional farming.
Two years ago a farmer took a risk by growing strawberries — mainly a crop of Madhya Pradesh's hilly areas — in Betul district. The first year brought disappointment, but this year, thanks to a change in the weather, a better strawberry harvest is earning him more profit than traditional farming.
Even though the chances of growing strawberries in Betul district were very slim, Navneet Shyamkishore Verma, a farmer from Batama village, decided to farm them organically. Last year, as an experiment, he planted strawberries alongside sugarcane on two acres. Because of the warmth in January and February the plants flowered, and now the field is red with strawberries. According to Navneet, a young agriculture graduate, each plant is yielding at least 500 to 700 grams of ripe strawberries. Because the farming is entirely organic, he packs the fruit and sends it not just to markets in the district but as far as Maharashtra.
He explained that the strawberry is a hill-region plant that grows well only in a polyhouse. Despite this, he took the risk of growing it in an open field. In the first round he bought and planted 350 plants, but frost stunted their growth. With the help of organic nutrients he protected the plants from disease and webbing, and now they are giving a bumper yield. Moving away from traditional farming, Navneet has now decided to grow lychees on his farm as well.
Navneet said he has put up nets to protect the plants from the sun, so the fruit does not spoil. The plants on his farm are producing completely organic strawberries, which he packs in half-kilo airtight packets and sends to market. His organic strawberries are selling at ₹300 per kilo.
