Gadchiroli farmers on the cuspof reaping cashew, carbon credits
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Nagpur: At Kotta Konda, a remote village in Gadchiroli bordering Chhattisgarh, Dokka Mattami waits for two more years to pass as he watches the 200 cashew nut trees planted on his farm grow.
Earning about Rs1 lakh annually by cultivating paddy, Mattami hopes to double his income after the cashew nuts are ready for plucking. Mattami has the largest plantation in the village, as others have begun growing cashew nuts in the area.
Amid the govt's attempts to build the Maoists-affected district into a steel hub, agriculture has been quietly working to convert the area, rich in iron ore, into a cashew nut belt like Goa or Konkan.
Apart from crop diversification, the govt is also eyeing profits for farmers, who may be able to generate carbon credits through the planation estates. With large-scale steel industry coming up in the district, the plantations are expected to strike a balance and generate carbon credits, according to the agriculture department.
The department's team found the hot and humid of Gadchiroli district's interiors a perfect setting for growing cashew nut and other tropical fruits.
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The experiment began three years ago after the state agriculture department tied up with the Cashew and Cocoa Board in Kerala. With the latter's handling, about 608 hectare of land has been brought under cashew cultivation.
Earlier, local farmers hardly knew that cashew nuts could be grown in the district. They entirely depended on paddy, which is the single crop taken in almost the entire district. Three years ago, cashew plants were introduced in the villages, and the area has now grown to over 600 hectare, said district superintending agriculture officer Preeti Hiralkar.
The dense forest and the number of rivers crisscrossing the district provide a rainforest-like humid climate, which is suitable for growing cashew nuts. Now, with forces destroying the Maoists reign of terror, it was possible for the officials to travel to the interiors. Better roads also helped in taking the cashew crop inside, says another agriculture department officer Anand Ganjewar.
Over 15 years ago, a voluntary organisation took a similar initiative, which did not yield much success.
However, now the agriculture department hopes to bear the fruit of success, said a source.
It takes around 4 to 5 years for the cashew nut tree to be ready for harvest. In the meantime, the department's teams have been regularly visiting farms like that of Mattami to prune the trees. This increases the yields, and meanwhile, shoots that are can also be used for grafting to grow more trees, said Ganjewar.
A mother tree orchard of Kesar mango is set to be developed soon which is expected to boost mango farming, said a note shared by the department. A govt nursery established on 10 hectare at Kasansur village of Etapalli taluka has become a feeder point for saplings which are planted across Gadchiroli. Trees of guava, custard apple, and tamarind are being grown through grafting in a plan to make Gadchiroli the orchard of Vidarbha, said agriculture department sources.
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