A first: Jhajjar farmers to grow ‘makhana’ in waterlogged fields

Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, August 30

Local farmers who have been deprived of cultivating crops due to waterlogged fields will now be able to take up ‘makhana’ (fox nuts) farming to get attractive earnings.

A team of agriculture experts from Chhattisgarh is imparting special training to local farmers on the techniques.

Significantly, the local office of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department has also started noting down the names of such farmers so that they can be assisted in cultivation and harvesting of the ‘makhana’ crop by providing them seeds and other vital information about it. This farming is done once a year.

It is for the first time in the state, when ‘makhana’ farming will be done in waterlogged fields to earn attractive income. The cultivation cost of ‘makhana’ was quite low, while it fetches a price between Rs 400 and Rs 1,000 per kg in the market, said Dr Ishwar Singh Jakhar, technical officer, Agriculture Department, Jhajjar.

“The recent survey has disclosed that around 20,000 acres of land in the district is affected by waterlogging. Following which the cultivation is done once a year in some areas while in others, it is not done at all. Hence, the owners of these lands have to depend upon other sources of income to make both ends meet. In this situation, ‘makhana’ cultivation is suitable for them. It is purely organic as pesticides and urea, etc are not used in it,” Jakhar added.

He further said around 25 villages, including Dighal, Dhandhlan, Malikpur, Teth, Paharipur, Godhri, Safipur, Ladayan, Akheri Madanpur, Amadal Shahpur, Dhana, Chadhwana, Chhara and Mandothi, in the district were badly affected by waterlogging. The water table in many villages had also come up considerably due to paddy farming, he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Capt Shakti Singh said the training aims to start a new experiment of ‘makhana’ cultivation in the district on a pilot basis. “If the experiment is successful then the waterlogged land would prove to be a boon for local farmers.”

“In traditional crops, the price of the produce is given on a quintal basis, whereas the average cost of ‘makhana’ in the market is Rs 1,000 per kg. It has a huge demand in the market due its high nutritional value and the price depends upon the quality of the produce,” he added.