Farmers turn to unconventional crops in Ferozepur, reap profits

Farmers here have taken to growing unconventional crops, including vegetables, fruits and flowers. The shift has proven financially beneficial for them, besides reducing menace of burning stubble.

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Avtar Singh (35) from Kunde village and his family members faced difficulty in growing conventional crops in their fields that generally remained waterlogged. About 10 years ago, Avtar began cultivating lotus, a crop suited for such conditions. His success led him to expand his operations and today he farms lotus on 10 acres. Avtar earns over Rs 2 lakh per acre from lotus stems and an additional Rs 35,000 from its seeds. At present, around 250 acre area in the region is under lotus farming.

In Toot village, Lakhwinder Singh (37) took to strawberry farming. He planted 20,000 strawberry saplings on his one-acre farm, which yielded significant profits. He has urged government to support farmers growing unconventional crops.

Gurmej Singh of Peer Ismail Khan village cultivates taro-root, potatoes, and taro (kachalu) on 85 acres, earning Rs 50,000 per acre. He also supplies the produce in other states. Similarly, Manpreet Singh from Basti Dabbya Wali has been growing green chillies on 90 acres since 2012, earning handsome profits.

Amarjit Singh from Lohgarh village grows dragon fruit on 2 acres using drip irrigation. Other farmers in the region have also turned to flower farming, growing varieties like marigold, jasmine, tuberose and gladiolus.

Out of 2.1 lakh acre farmland in Ferozepur district, around 20,000 acre is now used for cross-diversified crops. Of this, 16,000 acres are being used for growing vegetables and the remaining for flowers etc.

District Horticulture Officer Dr Simran Singh said Ferozepur was now the state’s largest producer of vegetables and chilli and had seen increased cultivation of taro. However, precise production data was difficult to obtain due to crop rotation cycles.