Family picture changed due to flower farming

Kudu Lohardaga: Farmer Akhilesh Kumar Singh of Chandalaso block, who was awarded the National Krishi Karman Award for better yield in pulse crops, has become a youth icon and a source of inspiration for the youth. Akhilesh Kumar Singh has created a market for flower production by cultivating flowers in the block. Flowers prepared in Chandalaso of the block are reaching Kudu from Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, West Bengal, Orissa and other states and are taking the flowers at a nominal price.

Akhilesh Kumar Singh has cultivated half a dozen varieties of flowers in about one acre. Akhilesh Kumar Singh has changed the fortunes and picture of his family through flower production and is providing employment to a dozen laborers throughout the year. Akhilesh Kumar Singh, resident of Chandalaso village of the block, has studied till post graduation in Economics.

Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who was always troubled by the condition of his family, has been trying his hand in farming since the beginning. In the year 2013, due to record breaking production of Arhar crop, he was honored with Krishi Karman Award at the national level by President Pranab Mukherjee and the then Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. When he was satisfied with pulses, oilseeds and Kharif farming, he got involved in flower farming from the year 2019 to earn more profits at less cost.

Took training in flower farming from Birsa Agricultural University. In the year 2018, he returned to the village after taking six months training at the Institute of Horticulture Training Center in Greater Noida on protected cultivation of flowers and saving flowers from destruction. After reaching the village, Akhilesh Kumar Singh directly met the District Horticulture Officer and asked for help in cultivating flowers.

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Seeing the passion and craze of Akhilesh Kumar Singh towards flower cultivation, the officer got the plant for the cultivation of Gerbera flower by mulching it with net house drip on 90 percent subsidy. From here the condition and direction of Akhilesh Kumar Singh started changing. In the year 2020, Gerbera was cultivated in about fifty decimals. It cost twenty thousand rupees and earned fifty thousand rupees in three months. Went to Ranchi for two weeks to sell gerbera flowers. After this, the news reached the flower traders that flowers are cultivated in Chandalas of Kudu. Businessmen coming from Ranchi started carrying flowers

Presently Akhilesh Kumar Singh is cultivating six types of flowers including Gerbera, Marigold, Gladiolus, Aloe Vera and other flowers. Through farming, they are providing employment to the unemployed youth of the village by connecting them with agriculture. In flower farming, long term profits can be obtained at low cost. Once a Gerbera plant is planted, it produces flowers for 3 consecutive years. Marigold flowers can be plucked continuously for about 6 months. Once gladiolus is cultivated, its seeds are used again and again.

In flower cultivation, there is no use of pesticides nor is there much expenditure on weeding. Due to which, along with saving in expenditure, the income also improves. An income of lakhs can be obtained from the cultivation of Gerbera in 25 decimals. Akhilesh Kumar Singh said that the condition of the family has improved significantly due to flower cultivation. Full sellers from Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Jamshedpur come every week and buy loose from the fields and take away cash.

Overall, while Akhilesh Kumar Singh gave a message to the youth through flower farming that own farming is better than a government job, he changed the condition and direction of himself and his family through flower farming. There was a time when flowers had to be brought from Ranchi to perform puja in Kudu, today flowers from Kudu are being sent to Ranchi and from different districts of the state to other states. Kudu soil is also suitable for flower cultivation. Seeing the passion of Chandalaso farmer Akhilesh Kumar Singh for flowers and the means of better income, cultivation of flowers has started in different areas of the block.

Will encourage farmers to cultivate flowers: BDO

Kudu BDO Pravesh Kumar Sao said that there are better opportunities for flower cultivation in the block. Flower cultivation has started from Chandalaso Panchayat, we will take it to other panchayats of the block and encourage farmers to take up flower cultivation in the block. The central and state governments are making efforts to double the income of farmers, the block administration and agriculture department are determined to take the government scheme to the farmers.