Farmers in Kandhamal reap rewards of banana cultivation

Berhampur: Subal Patra, a farmer in Kandhamal district's Mundigarh village, is reaping the profits of cultivating banana on his land, instead of planting vegetables and paddy.

Patra took up banana cultivation on his half an acre of land with support from the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Baliguda, last year. He has harvested the crop this month earning a profit of around Rs 1.50 lakh from his produce.

Like Subal, over 200 farmers in Mundigarh, Labanyanagar and Mandalapadar villages have taken up banana cultivation in over 50 acres under the Mukhyamantri Janajati Jeevika Mission (MM-JJM), a tribal livelihood initiative of the state govt, for the first time.

"Now we are harvesting the crop. I have already sold banana worth around Rs 70,000 so far and expect the figure to cross Rs 1 lakh next month," said Suresh Patra, another farmer in Mundigarh.

The Kandhamal administration has provided banana saplings of Grand-9 variety, developed by tissue culture technique, to the farmers last year for free under the scheme and provided technical support. The administration has also fenced their cultivated areas to protect the plants. The farmers contributed labour and some other inputs like fertilisers.

Kandhamal collector Amrit Ruturaj visited Mundigarh to inspect banana plantations and interacted with the farmers. As the farmers expressed happiness over their returns, he asked officers of ITDA Baliguda to cultivate in more areas.

"We have decided to cultivate bananas in additional 20 acres this year. More farmers have shown their interest to take up banana cultivation instead of traditional crops," said Krupasindhu Behera, project administrator, ITDA.

Samiran Nayak, project manager, ITDA, said the farmers are not facing any difficulties in marketing as the demand of bananas is high. "Traders from neighbouring Kalahandi and Balangir districts have given advance to farmers to purchase bananas," he said.

"Once it is cultivated, a plant can give at least three crops. The first crop usually takes 10-12 months for harvesting. The second and third crops arrive within 7-8 months," said Nayak.