The Thanjavur district stands out as the agricultural hub of the state of Tamil Nadu. In addition to paddy, farmers are cultivating various other crops such as sugarcane, groundnut, black gram, and cotton. Moreover, certain fruits like Nelli and Sapota are also cultivated by the farmers based on the soil conditions.
In this context, a farmer named Vengadasalam from the southern part of Natham, Dindigul district has been cultivating guava on his half an acre of land for the past five years. He mentioned that he has gained significant profit from this business.
In an interview with Local 18, the farmer mentioned that earlier he was only engaged in paddy cultivation. With that, he managed to earn a profit of just Rs 15,000. To increase his business he started guava cultivation. He said, “I only have half an acre of agricultural land. Until five years ago, I was exclusively engaged in paddy cultivation, growing two varieties: Kuruvai and Samba. It was very hard to make a profit. I just earned Rs 15,000 per season which was very less. Sometimes the crops used to get destroyed due to heavy rain. In such circumstances, I took advice from people.”
“With advice from people I decided to start guava cultivation. After learning about guava farming, I planted a total of 100 guava saplings, with each sapling planted at a distance of 14 feet. I applied fertiliser first and then watered them every two days. Once a guava tree is planted, it can yield fruit for almost 20 years,” he added.
He also mentioned that in his village around five farmers shifted to guava cultivation. So far, he hasn’t incurred any loss. Instead of selling the fruits to traders, he directly sells them to people in a roadside stall in Orathanadu. He sells the fruits for Rs 60 per kg. By selling directly he makes a profit of around Rs 30 per kg.
Speaking about his plans he said, “I plan to cultivate two crops in a year. I will begin harvesting guavas in the months of Maasi and Aadi. Within 90 days, I can earn profits of up to Rs 100,000 per crop. My annual expenses range between Rs 150,000 and Rs 200,000, resulting in significant profits. I am very happy with guava farming as it yields substantial profit.”
Comments
0 comment