Every Indian woman likes jasmines. The fragrance of the flowers brings divinity, be it in a church, mosque or a temple. Few people, however, know the life cycle or journey of the flower from the time it is ‘literally’ nipped in the bud on the farmland to its end use.
Krishna district is home to more than 5,000 acres of jasmine crop and exports majority of it to Hyderabad, West Godavari and East Godavari.
Fields in Mylavaram mandal present a picture of the beauty of this queen of flowers.
Just before dawn, farmers of Pulluru and Chandapadu land in their jasmine fields directing women engaged to pluck buds of the right size. It is an art to pluck the right bud.
Women pluck 10 kg per day (from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.) with a single bush giving between 250 grams and 450 grams.
By 9 a.m. the Pulluru Jasmine Flower Marketyard, run by Sri Veeranjaneya Rythula Sahakara Sangham, buzzes with activity with farmers bringing jasmine buds to get them weighed on an electronic scale and pouring them into a heap on the floor.
Suresh, director of an NGO Nestam, who brought these farmers together as an initiative of Nabard, feels happy that farmers are able to earn good profits.
