Champawat farmers no more interested in flower cultivation

BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, February 12

Flower cultivation in Champawat district is no more a lucrative business for farmers nowadays. Several problems such as lack of marketing facilities, non-availability of water for irrigation and expensive transportation of the produce to the Delhi market are the reasons that have demoralised farmers.

The farmers of Kota, Rolmail, Piplati, Bhingrara and Salna villages took up floriculture around a decade ago with the help of some Delhi-based businessmen. They continued flower cultivation on their own. However, they were forced to give up flower cultivation as the state government neither opened the promised flower mart at Haldwani nor it bore the hefty cost of transporting produce to Delhi. The farmers are unable to bear the cost of transporting their produce to the flower mart in New Delhi.

“Though our flowers with high flagrance are attractive, we can’t sustain the burden of mounting transportation cost. Hence, we have stopped the cultivation of flowers for commercial purpose,” said Purna Nand Bhatt, a flower cultivator of Kota village in Champawat district.

Some farmers, who took up floriculture in the Champawat district, complained that the government neither footed their transportation cost nor opened a flower mart near their farms. They accused the officials concerned of not providing irrigation facilities. “Lack of sufficient rain in the past few years has hit flower cultivation, further demoralising the farmers,” Bhatt added.

District Horticulture Officer HC Tiwari said flower cultivators in Rolmail village were not eligible for facilities being provided by the Horticulture Department. “The department is trying to manage water supply for irrigation for them as the local MP has adopted the village under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. “We have provided seeds of gladioli and other flowers to the farmers. We are trying to persuade the Uttarakhand Mandi Parishad to arrange a market for the florists,” said he added.