Dragon fruit cultivation in Una district yields handsome return
Una, November 5
Mushtaq Gujjar, a farmer from Adarsh Nagar in Amb subdivision, has set an example for others by taking to dragon fruit cultivation on his 3.5 acre of agriculture land and has begun earning handsome return. He has 5,000 plants, of which 1,300 have yielded fruit for the first time.
Mushtaq says the fruit is ripening now. He has harvested about 2 metric tons, fetching him Rs 250 to Rs 300 per kg. He says besides local market, he is transporting his produce to Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Chandigarh and Jalandhar fruit markets.
The progressive farmer informed that he started by planting 500 dragon fruit saplings in the year 2019. He has two hybrid and one indigenous varieties, including American beauty, Red Simon, Red royal and one species from Vietnam. Gradually, he has increased the number of plants to 5,000 and has also set up a nursery to cater to his own needs, besides for sale. Highly nutritious, Dragon fruit is in great demand in market.
As a result of the intervention by Una Deputy Commissioner Raghav Sharma, dragon fruit farming has been included as a crop in the Kisan Credit Limit for securing loans up to Rs 6 lakh per acre at low interest rates. In order to further boost dragon fruit farming, the district administration has included it to be covered under MNREGA so that farmers are able to get financial assistance for saplings, land development and purchase of cement concrete poles for plant support.
Mushtaq says the Horticulture Department provided 80 per cent subsidy for installation of drip irrigation at the farm and officers visit the plantation to provide information regarding fertiliser application and pest control measures.
He called upon farmers to adopt cultivation of exotic fruits and vegetables on a part of their agriculture land to boost farm income.
