Orchards of cashew nut and mango in West Godavari district have been converting slowly into vegetable gardens, thanks to the low production costs and availability of market. Younger generation farmers prefer to cultivate market-oriented vegetables with more shelf life and are focussing on exporting farm fresh produce to their designated customers. Knowledge transfer and technology, however, are playing a key role in making vegetable cultivation profitable to peasants.
“We were forced to destroy the cashew grove a few years ago, following a crisis in nut exports. I got a share of 1.7 acres of the ancestral property in which I started cultivating vegetables,” says Neelapala Satyanarayana, 32, from Venkataramannagudem of Tadepalligudem mandal. After experimenting with a variety of vegetables, he has zeroed in on spiny gourd – ‘Aagakara’ in the local parlance – which has a longer shell life and market demand. “In the absence of formal training in horticulture, I was forced to experiment with everything – from selecting the seed to choosing the market – in the initial days. The initial hiccups lasted for the first crop, but the issue of fertiliser and pesticide remained a major challenge,” explains Mr. Satyanarayana.
Expert advice
“It was at that point of time, the Reliance Foundation has come in contact with me. I minced no words to explain them the crop scenario and never hesitated to follow their advices,” he says. “I went to Tadepalligudem to buy the products suggested by the scientists. Since the suggestions helped me get a better yield, the farmers from the neighbouring fields too started following me and the pesticide traders expressed their readiness to supply the stocks of my choice,” he elaborates.
“An increasing number of horticulture farmers from West Godavari district are approaching our call centre to take expert advice on use of seed, fertiliser and pesticide. We are very happy that they are coming back with positive feedback,” says Varahalu Cheepulla, a project manager at the Reliance Foundation.
Vegetable cultivation is going on in about 20,000 acres in the district and the markets in Tadepalligudem, Siddhantam and Vijayawada are coming in handy for the farmers to sell their produce, besides sending some varieties to places like Hyderabad. “The support from the government is minimal and the market is dominated by middlemen. If the middlemen are eliminated from the system, vegetable farmers can reap more benefits,” says K. Srinivas, general secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Kowlu Rythula Sangham.