Earlier, the Scheduled Tribes (ST) population of the Dahod district in east Gujarat were hired as casual labourers or workers in cities, but now they cultivate flowers like roses and marigolds. As per media reports, floriculture or flower cultivation has skyrocketed their monthly revenue by up to ten times.
A farmer from Dahod district, Gesuben Parmar said that “My present monthly income is Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh, which is more than ten times what I used to get in the city and I employ two labourers”.
Parmar has been doing rose cultivation for 6 years now and he harvests 20,000 to 30,000 pieces of rose per month. He said, “In normal times, it fetches anywhere between 20 paisa per rose if I sell it to wholesale flower vendors & Rs 10 to passerby customers on the road. During festival time such as Diwali, Navratri and Ganesh Puja, the prices can go up to Rs 20 to 40”.
In addition, the disposable income from roses & marigold farming has also helped these farmers to send their kids to schools.
A 56-year-old woman from Pateliya adivasi community said, “My husband & I could not study, nor could our son as we were always on the move from one place to another. But now, my grandchildren go to school”. Earlier, the woman and her husband were migrant workers but now they have their own farm.
A small village in Dahod Limkheda taluka known as Kamboi too has noticed one-third of its population switching to floriculture. Out of total 300 households in Kamboi village, more than 100 tribal entrepreneur-farmers have switched from dryland crop agriculture to marigold, rose and chrysanthemum cultivation.
Government in Gujarat had encouraged these workers to floriculture by giving them Rs 30,000 subsidy from the horticulture department. This subsidy covers the initial investment on field preparation, seedlings & planting. A number of farmers were given formal training by officials of the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA).
Deputy Director of ATMA at Dahod, N.V. Rathwa said that “Floriculture, unlike maize and other crops, needs less water & also yields round the year, helping farmers earn higher incomes”.
