Challa Ramadevi, progressive farmer from Valutimmapuram village of Peddapuram mandal in East Godavari district, has shown the way to her colleagues on how to make cultivation more profitable. A horticulture farmer by practice Ramadevi tried her hand in capsicum cultivation a year ago and tasting the fruits of success now. Of her total extent of five acres of cultivable land that is more suitable for orchards in the upland village, she sowed capsicum, a vegetable which is being used in most of the households but not being cultivated by the local farmers.
“We have allocated an extent of 27 cents for the nursery, which is very crucial for the capsicum crop. Our first nursery was grown in June, 2015 and the transplantation was done in the entire five acres after 40 days that was in August,” recalled Ms. Ramadevi on Sunday, when Home Minister N. Chinna Rajappa visited her field along with officials and local elected representatives.
She invested Rs. 11.5 lakh to install stretcher and drip systems in the field and spent another Rs. 30,000 towards the input costs. The Department of Horticulture has extended a 50 per cent subsidy on the equipment cost.
“The outcome was six tonnes and the earning was Rs. 2.40 lakh. After deducting the input costs, the profit from the first crop was Rs. 2.10 lakh,” Ms. Ramadevi said in a pride. In the second crop season, one and a half tonnes of capsicum was sent to the market from this field so far and the harvest would be continued throughout the winter season.
“In the local market, the price for capsicum is anything between Rs. 45,000 and Rs. 50,000 per tonne. Since there is no need of investing high amounts on labour, we can get back the investment in three years,” the farmer said. Ms. Ramadevi is not keeping the land idle between two crops of capsicum, but making better use of it by cultivating ladyfinger, another vegetable that had a huge demand in the market.
Awareness classes
Congratulating the lady for her initiative, Mr. Rajappa asked the officials of the Horticulture Department to conduct awareness classes to the farmers to, who were complaining about absence of remunerative price to sago, the tuber being cultivated in the upland mandals.
“Let them switch over to vegetable and fruit cultivation, so that there would be no dearth of market and remunerative price as well,” he said. Horticulture officer T.V. Siril and others accompanied the Minister.
