Urge to be different leads Fatehabad farmer to pearl cultivation

Anil Kakkar

Sirsa, April 19

Most farmers stick to cultivating staple crops such as wheat, cotton, millet and rice, but some do move away from the rut. With agricultural practices evolving, more and more farmers have started taking a detour towards diversification.

Had stumbled upon a video

• During the Covid period, he stumbled upon a video on Facebook about pearl farming, which sparked his interest.
• For about one year and six months, Basant and his son researched on pearl cultivation.
• He also took online training and in September 2023, he took a leap of faith in this direction.

In Fatehabad district of Haryana, Basant Saini is one such farmer. Engaged in pearl cultivation, he is now inspiring other farmers to break away from conventional crop cycles for lucrative earnings.

Saini, who resides in Sambalwala village (Tohana) in Fatehabad, says he always wanted to do something different. In 1996, he began mushroom cultivation on his one-acre farm for the first time. Subsequently, his interest expanded into various specialised forms of farming. However, he contracted Covid twice, resulting in a significant decline in his health. Today, the lower part of his body doesn’t function properly due to health issues. Despite these physical challenges, he didn’t give up on hard work. During the Covid period, he stumbled upon a video about pearl farming, which sparked his interest. He then sought advice from his son, who resides in Australia, regarding this venture. For about one year and six months, Basant and his son researched on pearl farming. Finally, in September 2023, he took a leap of faith in this direction. Initially, he began pearl farming in half an acre of land. He says he has spent around Rs 4 lakh in over two years and is set to earn about Rs 18 lakh profit in the coming months.

Basant too took online training in pearl farming from Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He explains that pearl farming starts with obtaining oysters, which are not locally available and needed to be out sourced. Oysters come in two types: those found in the sea and those bred in freshwater, requiring the use of canal water. Saini says, nowadays, freshwater oysters are more commonly used due to their easy availability. He added, tanks are built to keep the oysters submerged in clean water, where they are fed regularly. Nuclei are inserted into the oysters, and they are left in water. It takes approximately one and a half to two years for pearls to be ready for harvest.

Basant says currently, there are 8,000 oysters in his farm, and he intends to raise the number to 20,000. For this, he has decided to dig two ponds. Basant plans to sell the yield of his first cultivation from October to November this year. He says the price of half-sized pearls ranges from Rs 100-300, while full-sized pearls fetch Rs 300 to 900 per piece. Additionally, when these oysters are given two-three years to mature, the value of the pearls harvested from them increases significantly, fetching Rs 5,000 to 50,000 per carat in the market, depending upon the quality.

Notably, pearls are not only used in jewelry but also in Ayurvedic medicines. Additionally, they find application in women’s cosmetics and the crafting of small sculptures.