Four farmers of Bura Gajjar village of Sri Muktsar Sahib District have jointly started the cultivation of Strawberry to give new direction to their traditional cropping pattern. Now, when the production has started, the farmers are very excited and they further started planning for direct sale of produce to their customers.Gurbhej Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh decided to do something new agro adventure to boost their income with diversification and to achieve their goal they jointly started cultivation of Strawberry this year in 1 acre. While sharing their success story Gurbhej Singh said that following the guidance of the Horticulture Department, they along with another farmer had brought strawberry plants from the Yai city of Maharashtra. Its sapling transplanted in October and now production has begun. Farmers are currently marketing it in Sri Muktsar Sahib and Bathinda market but their plans are to be marketed directly to customers to gain more profit.
The four farmer friends said that they had planted 24000 saplings in one acre. These plants are of 6 different varieties. They had planted the Strawberry with low-tunnel method with mulching of total plot to preserve the water and to control the growth of weeds. To decrease the irrigation water consumption they installed the drip irrigation system at their farm. According to them, the initial cost of its cultivation is of course high but still it gives handsome income.Gurbhej Singh says that the farmer has to adopt the diversification of agriculture by leaving conventional farming to increase their income. He said that in horticulture a wide scope for farmers to increase their profit. He said that farmers should cultivate their crops as per the guidelines of Horticulture and Agriculture Department.Horticulture Development Officer Gagandeep Kaur said that these farmers have been also growing muskmelon in 2 acre with protected cultivation technique. She said that famrers of adjoining area are visiting their farm to get knowledge of Strawberry cultivation. She said that the Horticulture Department provides technical advice to the farmers of the horticulture sector.